Icharus Invented
by SweetProserpina
Summary: DG-rated for language: Final Chapter Up! After Lucius' imprisonment Draco is set free to mold his own future, and gain back the respect the Malfoy name once held. Ginny, capitalizes on a chance encounter and is pulled into Draco's quest for power.
1. Chapter One: The train

Disclaimer: Yes, yes, I know, I don't own HP or anything thing else from that universe, really wish I did though.. my birthday's only in 7 months... come on.. you could start saving up.. I'd act really surprised and everything... *grin.. heehee..  
  
A/N: All right, here it is the first chapter of a story that I've been working on since.. January?, my internet broke down and then the computer and out of utter boredom this baby was born... beware: this is my first fanfic (although I've already got a one-shot posted, that's unrelated) Be kind, be gentle, I like reviews, especially the ones filled with constructive criticism, but I'll keep writing and posting even if I get none at all.. Hopefully someone out there is reading and enjoying...  
  
It is my pleasure ladies and gentlemen to present........  
  
Chapter One  
  
On a somewhat cloudy Tuesday, September the first, the Hogwarts Express blew its final whistle and began pulling out of the station towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Weasleys had arrived just in time, as usual, and had been the last to board. This left the two youngest Weasleys out of breath and gulping for air as they searched for compartments with room in them.  
  
Ron had quickly squeezed into a compartment with Neville, Harry, and Hermione, but with all their animals in there as well, Ginny knew she'd never fit too. So, she walked unsteadily down the corridor of the lurching train, hoping that some of the compartments in the back might have room.  
  
At the second to last compartment she knocked and peeped in, she saw Luna Lovegood and Michael Corner sitting inside, talking casually, at hearing the door slide open both turned to see who it was. Luna's face lit up at seeing her.  
  
"Ah, Ginny, such a long time has it been. So many wonderful things to tell you I do about the adventures of summer."  
  
Ginny quirked an eyebrow at Luna's new speech pattern but she quickly regained her composure and smiled a 'hello' at her and sat down. Michael, on the other hand, stared daggers at her and met her with an icy "Good day". Ginny heaved a great sigh in his direction and began to talk to Luna about her summer.  
  
'Michael has no reason to be angry with me. It wasn't as if I didn't apologize to him' she thought distractedly.  
  
She had sent him an owl months ago saying that she didn't really like him in that way anymore, and for Merlin's sake, he should have moved on by now, didn't he like Cho or someone? But he continued to stare at her as if she was Proserpine herself, Ice Queen of the Underworld.  
  
After sitting there for an hour, Ginny couldn't stand his glaring any longer and excused herself from the compartment, saying she was going in search of the food trolley 'and some peace' she added silently as she slid the door closed. She thought for a second about going to visit Ron and everyone but quickly dismissed the idea. The trio had spent the last two weeks of holidays at the Burrow and she'd had her fill of whispers and looks from them to fill her quota for the year.  
  
"It's not as if I'm still eleven!" she said as she confronted them in the orchard one day. Ginny remembered Harry's kind but misguided words.  
  
"We know you're not Ginny, but we still feel the need to protect you, keep a watch out for you. I can't forget about how you looked so powerless in the Chamber of Secrets all those years ago... er.. it still gives me nightmares!"  
  
"Well, that makes two of us, Harry!" Ginny retorted "But I'm a big girl now, I can bloody well look after myself!" With that said, she stomped off, leaving the Trio standing there with their mouths agape. Strangely enough, they had gotten the picture, and tried to downplay their concern for the rest of the holidays.  
  
Ginny shook her head of the recollection and headed to the last compartment, hoping that the lack of noise coming from it meant that it was empty. She didn't bother knocking when she came to the door, and instead, kept her fingers crossed and slid the door wide.  
  
Draco Malfoy was sitting in his school robes with his feet propped up on the seat across from him, reading a book with extreme concentration. He hadn't noticed Ginny open the door and step into the compartment.  
  
Ginny assessed the situation.  
  
'Well,' she figured 'as long as he stays quiet and doesn't bother me, it'll be ten times more bearable then Evil Eyes Corner in the other compartment.' Ginny quietly closed the door behind her and sat down as far away from Malfoy as possible. She then gratefully closed her eyes and listened as the dull rhythm of the train rocked her to sleep.  
  
Malfoy had been deep in thought about magical theory when Ginny had entered the compartment. In fact, an entire half hour had passed since and he still hadn't noticed. Although, that soon changed as he completed his chapter. He looked up in shock at the person dozing across from him.  
  
"You lost Weasel?" Malfoy sneered "Saint Potter and Big Brother sick of you following them around already?"  
  
Ginny cracked her eyes open. "Oh, sod off Malfoy" she said offhandedly to him. Malfoy quirked an eyebrow questioning this strange show of bravery, or perhaps, foolishness from this little pixie of a girl.  
  
"Excuse me, I think I misheard you, this is my compartment Weasley; nice, quiet and the best feature, before you came in: distraction free." Her expression flickered at him, taking in the smirk plastered on his face. There was a slight look of annoyance there as well, along with tired shadows underneath his eyes. She judged that this solitary boy with his lap covered in a large text was in no mood for a fight with her, her experience with six older brothers had taught her how to assess her opponent correctly and this time, she decided to chance it. Staring directly at him she spoke.  
  
"Look Malfoy, I'll make you a deal, I won't bother you, you don't bother me, all right? This is the only quiet compartment left and I intend on staying here. Frankly, I don't care where in all of Hades realm you plan to go. But I. Am. Staying. Here."  
  
Malfoy was about to retort when the door slid open to reveal the lunch trolley, it distracted both of the arguing students momentarily. After they had both bought some snacks, with Malfoy casually making sarcastic comments about how long it must have taken her family to save up for that one chocolate frog, the door was closed and they sat back in silence, munching on their treats.  
  
Malfoy used the time to appraise the young woman sitting across from him. He casually looked her up and down and then turned his gaze towards the window, where the Scottish countryside was rolling by.  
  
'Well,' he thought to himself and sighed mentally, 'he could have to put up with a lot worse, at least it's not that whore Pansy, or those morons Crabbe and Goyle. Ugh,' he shivered 'she's certainly better looking than them any day. As long as she's quiet..' he shrugged mentally. 'I'm not in the mood to argue anyway, the meeting at Gringotts this morning was far too taxing, greedy little buggers.'  
  
"Fine" he decided, "stay if you want, but keep quiet" he said, his face entirely void of expression.  
  
"Good, I will then." Ginny remarked.  
  
"Oh, just shut up" Malfoy muttered as he once again took up his book and immersed himself in it.  
  
"Oh, sod off" Ginny mumbled back, closing her eyes, content on napping all the way to Hogwarts.  
  
Another school year had begun. 


	2. Chapter Two: Running

A/N: nope, still don't own it.. neither do I own the punk rock song, I'm not sure who the artist is, for it's on a mix tape my bro gave me, but it's not me...=;-(  
  
A/N: Revised chapter two.. thanks to my helpful reviewers...grin And now.....  
  
Chapter Two  
  
...two big city kids lost in a perfect world, of egotistic boys and lying little girls. And she knows, but she fakes it, that she's doin' okay....  
  
An upbeat punk rock song abruptly ended Draco's dream.  
  
It had been a good one too, there had been these two gorgeous Veela, a desert island, chocol...er.. never mind.  
  
The music from Draco's charmed alarm clock had woken him at the usual 6:30 am on Monday morning, three weeks into the beginning of term at Hogwarts. Draco shook the sleep out of his head and rolled out of his sleek, queen size bed. He left the music on, enjoying the sounds of the only alternative WWN station on air.  
  
' It really is nice to still have my own room' he thought as he slogged across the plush area rug to his walnut and ebony inlaid dresser to get his running togs.  
  
Draco had had his own room here since second year. It was probably the only thing he could still thank Lucius for these days. His father had decided that he had wanted his son to stop 'slumming it'. A Malfoy should not have to share a room, let alone with people so decidedly lower than himself, it just looked bad. So, all it took were a few strategic 'donations' to the Library, the Hospital Wing etc. and Draco was the owner of a small suite of rooms and back to living in the style Malfoys were accustomed to.  
  
Recently, Malfoy the Younger had begun to view the importance of his wealth differently than Malfoy Senior. Money could only get you so much and so far, as exemplified by Lucius' present predicament, but Draco did like the perks that money could provide.  
  
'In fact,' he thought, 'I heard someone say recently that money couldn't buy happiness, but at least you can park your yacht next to it.' He sighed sadly, and briefly thought of the terrible accuracy of the sarcastic comment.  
  
Draco tied his last trainer lace and was about to head out the door but stopped to give himself a glance in the mirror.  
  
'If Father ever saw me like this, he probably reserve a nice padded room in St. Mungo's for me, that, or curse the shit out of me. Yeah, that's far more likely. But what do you expect, one can't run in robes..'  
  
Draco shook his head and smirked at his reflection. Draco was wearing a black t-shirt, which he had ripped the sleeves off of, liking how it showed off his biceps, across it's front, in large gothic script was the name of one of his favourite wizarding bands "Tortured", although he also appreciated the irony of the label for himself. His shorts were black cargo shorts, (guaranteed to last 100 years, with bottomless pockets!) albeit a bit too baggy for running but he had absolutely refused to wear those nylon spandex contraptions he saw in the Magic Outdoors (for all your magical sporting needs!) Having his bare lower legs exposed to the eyes of the early risers of the student body was quite enough, he didn't want to send any girls into a frenzy. He had cobbled together his running attire from a number of different designers, aiming to look polished, yet edgy. He had an image to portray, and spandex shorts were not involved.  
  
Draco grabbed his dark green swacket and headed out of his room through the back entrance and into a seldom-used dungeon corridor.  
  
The door to his room from the corridor was charmed to his voice, making it an extremely secure and private entrance, even if someone discovered his password, it wouldn't open unless Draco himself, spoke it.  
  
He made his way from there out through the empty corridors to the front doors of the school, where he exited and started jogging to warm up his muscles for his run ahead.  
  
Draco had started running during the beginning of last summer. First, he had run to escape, just to get out of the Manor and clear his mind of all the chaos that had been waiting for him after he stepped off the train.  
  
Flashback to the end of the his fifth year  
  
Draco had made his way home by himself, as there had been no one waiting for him at the train station, not even a House Elf. He opened the large black oak front doors to find his house in terrible ruin, furniture thrown and splintered, papers strewn about and an eerie silence looming over it all.  
  
'The mess must be from the Auror raids when Lucius was caught, but I wonder why it hasn't been cleaned up by now..' he thought as he continued into the Manor.  
  
As a precaution, Draco had taken out his wand as he slowly climbed the grand staircase, keeping his eyes open. Down at the end of the East Wing he could see light coming from underneath one of the doors.  
  
"Mother?" he questioned calmly.  
  
No answer.  
  
He drew closer to the door and called again. Only the silence met him. He slid his hand to the burnished silver knob and opened the door. His mother was sitting straight up in a wing chair in front of the dying fire. She looked like a shadow of her former self, once a beautiful prize wife, Narcissa was now an emaciated and disheveled wretch without Lucius to 'look' after her.  
  
She said nothing as Draco entered the room.  
  
"Mother" he queried, trying to get her attention.  
  
He raised one eyebrow at her present state, and saw her clutching the broken splinters of Lucius' wand, a piece of parchment lay on her lap. It appeared that his father's trial had finished, and the results were as expected.  
  
"He's never coming back Mother." Draco said stonily "Of that, I can assure you." He turned abruptly and stalked out of the room, turning towards his mother's blank face before he exited.  
  
"Good riddance to bad rubbish" he spat and continued on his way to his own suite of rooms in the West Wing to assess the damage there.  
  
The duration of the holiday had been anything but to Draco. His summer had been spent putting the Manor to rights, finding someone to look after his catatonic mother. As well as dealing with business matters that now rested solely on his young shoulders all because of Lucius' prolonged indisposition. He also co-operated with the Ministry whenever possible, though on a personal level he loathed dimwitted Fudge and his sycophants, he attempted to get on, at least, amicable terms with them.  
  
Basically, he spent the summer striving to resurrect the Malfoy name after Lucius' monumental Fuck Up, as he had started calling his father's capture and imprisonment in Azkaban. Lucius had dragged the Malfoy name through the mud so thoroughly that it took all of Draco's energy and cunning to clean it up.  
  
It was proving to be a more difficult task then he could have ever imagined.  
  
Death Eaters, and Voldemort sympathizers had no sympathy for anyone clumsy enough to get caught, therefore they made it as difficult as they could for Draco when he tried to settle his father's business entanglements with any of them. Draco had to constantly watch his back for curses and hexes from pissed off Death Eaters as he managed his business affairs throughout the Wizarding World.  
  
Speaking of the rest of the Wizarding World, they were just as bad as the Death Eaters themselves, they treated him with disdain and hatred because of what his father had done.  
  
'Like father, like son, mark my words.' Was the stupid expression that raised his ire everywhere he went on business.  
  
And so, he had started running, at first, only to quiet the hammering assault of demands required of him and then he ran to give himself time to plan for his own future, now so wonderfully separated from Lucius'. He was looking forward to this future, one where he would be powerful enough to evoke the respect of Muggle-Lover, Death-Eater and all those in between.  
  
The first step he decided would be to study, knowledge is the only kind of real power. So he began to educate himself in the most difficult forms of magic. And from this, his journey to shape his own life began that summer, buried in books and running miles through the leafy green of the English countryside.  
  
Flashback ends  
  
Draco sprinted the last 500 metres as he drifted out of his reverie. Walking back to the castle he caught his breath and made his way back to his room. Anyone passing by this Malfoy, would have been startled by his appearance, even after three weeks of this as his daily routine. The other early rising students had a hard time fitting this Malfoy into their pre- conceived stereotype. This Malfoy was rumpled and sweaty, walking calmly, rather than strutting, down the corridors. If one was very observant, and seldom were when it came to Draco Malfoy, they would have noticed that his normally pale ivory complexion had gained a decidedly rosy tint, and that his eyes, rather than being cold narrow slits of grey, were brighter, glinting with a hidden sense of purpose.  
  
Malfoy emerged from his room twenty minutes later looking like his immaculate former self; showered, shaved and polished. Though Draco had a new outlook, he believed that there was no reason why everyone else should be privy to it. At least not yet, not until he was assured he would succeed. So he acted towards the other inhabitants of Hogwarts as he always had, with cruelty, malice and laughter. It was easy for Draco to slip that mask on, everyone either feared him or ridiculed him for what his father had done. So he acted like they expected him to, just like his father had taught him.  
  
As he walked to breakfast, his face shifted into its usual bored and arrogant expression, ready to face the hatred, but beyond his expression, behind the stormy eyes, his mind was roiling, planning, and though he refused to believe it: dreaming.  
  
A/N: swacket: a conglomeration of sweater and jacket, meant to describe a hooded sweatshirt that opens down the front via a zipper. Not sure if this really is a slang word, or just exists in my strange family... 


	3. Chapter Three: I spy

Disclaimer: I don't own HP, just the plot.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Ginny sighed as she scrubbed the last desktop in the Potions classroom. She had been scrubbing sticky orange goo off all the desks for the last three hours.  
  
'That is the last time I ever stick up for Luna' she thought as she duly wrung out the rag in the stone sink.  
  
It really wasn't fair, Luna had been carefully measuring lacewings into her cauldron when a Slytherin from the other side of the room launched a mortwood beetle eye across the class and it landed, as luck would have it, with a splash into Luna's cauldron.  
  
Ginny had been her partner in the class since the beginning of the year, when they had learned that due to the low amount of sixth year students enrolled in senior Potions, all four houses would be put together in one class.  
  
Anyway, the potion in Luna's cauldron started bubbling vigorously and suddenly it exploded in one giant 'splosh' covering everyone and everything in orange muck. Snape was quick to slink over and snap at Luna. Ginny, jumped up to her defense, loudly blaming the Slytherins, then silently hitting herself for being such a loudmouth Gryffindor hero. She knew she had to try harder to think before speaking. Snape had quickly left Luna and stalked over to Ginny.  
  
"Well then Miss Weasley, since you are so sure of who is responsible for the disturbance, I am certain you will gladly take it upon yourself to clean it up as well."  
  
With a few mumbled words and a flick of his wand, Snape made the mess disappear. He then looked at Ginny.  
  
"Don't worry, Miss. Weasley" he sneered "it will be brought back tonight when your detention will be to clean it all up, no magic allowed." He finished with an evil grin appearing on his sallow face.  
  
Ginny was finally finished. She was exhausted and with one last groan she threw her scrub brush and rag into the bucket full of dirty cleaning water. She sighed in anguish as the water splashed back upon her robes.  
  
"Great" she mumbled to herself, "bloody brilliant, this day can't possibly get any worse."  
  
Her normal cheery disposition was gone, replaced by a decidedly frayed Weasley temper. With the room spotless and the bucket and rags finally put away, Ginny strode to the door and peeked out cautiously, despite her mood. She was still wary enough to not want to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris on her way back to the Tower, after all it was getting on eleven 'o' clock.  
  
Ending up with a detention for being in detention would really end the day with a bang. Ginny decided that the safest way to get to her common room would be to go the back way; through the dungeons.  
  
Longer, yes, darker, most certainly, but far less frequented by most students and teachers. She, herself, had only found the route when she took a wrong turn back in third year when she was looking for the kitchens.  
  
Her feet made no noise as she carefully crept along the stone corridor and deeper into the dungeons. She slunk along the wall, allowing her easy access to hiding spots behind statues or in disused classrooms should someone come along. She desperately wanted nothing more than to get up to her room and collapse in her big four poster. She was thinking these very thoughts when she heard something.  
  
She stopped, dead in her tracks, quickly looking up and down the hallway.  
  
'Nope' she thought to herself, 'must be in one of the rooms along here, oh Zeus, I hope it isn't Peeves, I'd be so dead, if he caught me, he'd wake the castle.'  
  
Ginny slowly walked closer to the door where she thought the voice was coming from.  
  
'It doesn't sound like Peeves, that's for sure.' She reflected, as listened to a smooth medium timbre voice mumbling quietly inside. It sounded strangely familiar to Ginny in a way, but she couldn't quite identify the speaker.  
  
'And, logically' she thought 'why would I know someone who is hiding down in the dungeons in the middle of the night?'  
  
It just didn't make sense, but something other then logic was tugging at her insides, recognizing the voice.  
  
"Well," she finally said to herself, "I'll just take a little peek and settle this. From what it sounds like, the person attached to that voice is concentrating far too hard to even notice me."  
  
And with that, Ginny and her Gryffindor courage, cautiously, millimeter by millimeter, widened the gap between the door and the jamb. Her eyes widened with shock at what she saw.  
  
Within the classroom paced a slightly disheveled Draco Malfoy. His hair, so carefully slicked back had fallen into his face, and he distractedly kept pushing it aside. His robes were open, revealing an un-tucked white oxford shirt and a loosened tie.  
  
He was murmuring to himself, so softly that Ginny couldn't quite make out the words, though she was sure it was some kind of incantation. Abruptly, he stopped pacing and talking. Ginny thought she was caught.  
  
'Sweet Proserpina! Now how am I going to get out of this!' She pondered, when suddenly Malfoy stepped up to two huge tomes on a table, scanning one page quickly, his eyes lit on something and he grabbed up a small dragon- hide covered journal and a quill and began noting something down. This would have been the perfect time for Ginny to slowly back away, but she just couldn't do it. Ginny was far too curious now.  
  
"What in all of Hades realm is that prat up to now?" she wondered quietly.  
  
It had to be Dark Magic, couldn't it? He certainly didn't look like he was practicing Cheering Charms with that serious look on his face. The again, she had never actually seen him smile...maybe that was his happy face?  
  
'But what about his wand?' she thought quickly, 'it isn't in his hand nor anywhere in sight. Hmm, very peculiar.'  
  
Just when Ginny though things couldn't get any stranger, they did.  
  
She was now staring at Malfoy with eyes as wide as teacup saucers.  
  
'Is he doing what I think he's doing? He can't be, he's such a ..a...a.. PRAT.'  
  
Her thoughts slowed to a stop as she continued to watch the magic that Malfoy was concentrating so hard on performing. After a couple of minutes, Malfoy stopped and turned back to his journal to make more notes. This snapped Ginny back into reality and she unwillingly urged herself back into stealthily walking back to Gryffindor Tower, leaving Malfoy completely unaware that his secret was no longer that.  
  
After finally making it back to the empty common room, she fell into the couch in front of the fire, tired but with plenty to think about.  
  
The fire crackled merrily as she stared into the flames, trying to sort out what she had seen.  
  
Well, firstly, it was obviously something Malfoy wanted to keep secret. Otherwise, he wouldn't be practicing alone, in an abandoned classroom and down a corridor no one knows about, no less.  
  
Secondly, it was bloody brilliant!  
  
Ginny didn't know that Malfoy had it in him to take on something this monumental. It was one of the most difficult things a witch or wizard could do, and not only that, he was teaching himself. Frankly, she was envious.  
  
'Imagine' she thought suddenly, 'having that power within my grasp. I would never feel helpless or insignificant again...'she shuddered at the thought and continued to stare into the flames.  
  
Slowly, a feral grin spread across her face.  
  
She had a plan.  
  
A plan wherein she would learn this powerful magic from a most reluctant teacher. Tomorrow she would implement the first step.  
  
And with that, she climbed up to her dorm, crawled into her covers and was fast asleep in seconds.  
  
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers. You rock out and are totally wicked awesome. The constructive criticism helps sooo much. Cheers! -sweetproserpina 


	4. Chapter Four: A gryffe plan

Disclaimer: As always, I am not JKR, and I don't own the Harry Potter universe, I'm merely borrowing her excellent characters in order to make them obey my every command... umm... Draco bring me more lemonade please.. that's a good fictional character.....  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Ginny's plan began the next day during the break between morning classes. It wasn't the most clever plan, and she openly admitted that to herself.  
  
'I mean, it's not like I'm a Slytherin,' but she figured it would do and would intrigue Malfoy enough to, at the very least, listen to her proposition. Now that she had dirt on him, she wasn't afraid of ticking him off, well, not as afraid, that is.  
  
The hallways of Hogwarts were packed as soon as the chime rang signaling the end of second class. Ginny bravely waded in and began searching for Malfoy's platinum blond locks in the sea of brown and black heads. Once she spotted it, she walked briskly toward him, appearing to be lost in thought and not paying attention to where she was going. They collided with a very undignified "Umpth", scattering their scrolls and textbooks.  
  
"Watch it, Weasley!" Malfoy exploded.  
  
"Honestly," he spat as he picked up his books with a simple summoning charm "do I have to add uncoordinated to the already long list of insults for you?"  
  
"Sorry Malfoy," Ginny said, hiding her grin and ignoring his barb. "Wouldn't want you to _fly_ off the handle ..."  
  
She saw a brief expression of surprise flicker across Malfoy's face but it quickly turned into his usual mocking sneer.  
  
"Just watch where you're going from now on Little Weasel" he threatened and stalked off.  
  
Ginny's grin widened as she finished picking up her books, 'perfect' she thought, 'everything is going as planned.'  
  
The next encounter occurred after lunch had finished in the Great Hall. On the way to her last class she searched out Malfoy once again and purposely collided into him.  
  
"For Merlin's sake Weasley, are you deaf as well as stupid. Didn't you listen to me the last time? You must be thicker then that brother of yours...and that's saying a hell of a lot, isn't it?" He questioned, staring her down.  
  
Ginny stared back up at him; he was towering over her, 'Stay brave' she thought to herself.  
  
She shrugged, trying to appear defeated, "You know us Weasleys, _birds of a feather_.." she let a small smirk escape and then turned on her heel and hurried in the opposite direction.  
  
'This is going to work, I know this has to work!' she chanted to herself as she darted into her History of Magic class.  
  
Hours later, after dinner, Ginny walked into the Library, searching, once again for Malfoy. She giggled quietly as she thought of the day's events.  
  
'Good thing Ron doesn't know I've been stalking Malfoy all day.'  
  
Tiptoeing through the stacks of books, she kept her eyes peeled for her quarry. If he wasn't here then she'd have to repeat the whole process tomorrow. There wasn't any way the incidents today had mattered enough to be remembered by him for more than a few hours.  
  
After searching for a good ten minutes she was about to give up when she spotted him at a table in a dark corner of the Transfiguration section. He was, surprisingly to her, by himself, no goons in sight, studiously poring over what appeared to be homework. Ginny silently slipped into the chair across from him. He looked up casually from his work.  
  
"Must you sit here Weasley? I've seen more then enough of you today as it is."  
  
"I can sit here if I want to, Malfoy. It's a free library."  
  
He smirked; this one was too easy.  
  
"It's a good thing too, otherwise you'd never be able to afford the admission."  
  
At her lack of response, Malfoy's eyes became steely. 'No snappy comeback? This chit wants something, but what could she possibly want from me.' He wondered to himself, momentarily at a loss.  
  
Glaring at her freckled little pixie face he tried to read her expression. She was doing a valiant job of trying to look indifferent but under that thin layer he could easily see tinges of amusement, fear and strangely, was it hope? Although intriguing, he had had enough of her games.  
  
"As entertaining as this has been today, I no longer find it amusing, if there is something you want to say, then say it, you have my attention."  
  
Ginny tilted her head, appraising his mood, he appeared to be relatively calm, no need to worry about being hexed for her tenacity. 'Alright, here goes nothing.'  
  
"I know what you're trying to do Malfoy."  
  
"Really," he replied, keeping his voice free of worry, if she knew, if she told _anyone_.. she's going to pay immensely, his plan would be ruined, he'd be a disgrace to the Malfoy name, bringing it down as his father had.  
  
"Do tell Weasley, if you are so all-knowing." He quirked an eyebrow at her petite form.  
  
"I was in the dungeons last night, after doing detention for Snape, I took the back way to the tower and I saw you _practicing _in a class room. From what I can tell, you are going to a lot of trouble so people don't find out what you are attempting to do."  
  
"And?"  
  
'Shit' he thought. 'Shit, shit, shit!' He knew where this was going and he didn't like it at all. Beholden to a ruddy Weasley!  
  
"I promise you my silence if..." she faltered a little, her Gryffindor courage giving out under his glare.  
  
He continued to hold her gaze, daring her to finish that sentence, daring her to ask something of him, a Malfoy. Luckily, her courage flared up again, as it so often does to any Gryffindor when they are faced with a high-pressure situation.  
  
"Malfoy, what I'm trying to say, if you'd stop bloody glaring at me, is that I want in."  
  
"Pardon?" He was caught completely off guard, something that rarely occurred. He had expected something.. well.. more Gryffe of her, 'be nice to my brother, stop calling people Mudbloods, adopt twenty fluffy orphan Kneazles'.  
  
This self-serving request was unexpected.  
  
"Teach me, too. You obviously, now don't let this go to your head, Narcissis, know what you are doing and are frankly bloody good at it. I want to be one too."  
  
"You're serious?" Malfoy queried.  
  
Her steady stare answered for her.  
  
"Fine, I will do what I have to, only to keep this quiet you understand. Otherwise I would never lower myself to tutoring someone like you. However, I am warning you, tell a soul, Little One, and you'll live to regret it." She gulped a little at his threat, silently wishing that if she did earn his wrath that she would be safely on another continent when the dragon dung hit the repelling charm.  
  
He reached up to the shelf behind him and pulled a slim volume down, throwing it across the table at her.  
  
"Here Weasel, firstly, before we think about starting your tutorials, you have to find out what Animagus you will become. If it's not remotely similar to mine, I can't and won't help you, and the deal is off. Although you will still have to keep your end of the bargain nonetheless, got it?"  
  
He didn't wait for an answer.  
  
"Glad to know that we understand each other. You know what mine form is, correct?"  
  
"Yep, er.. thanks.. I'll go now. See you tomorrow."  
  
Ginny quickly sped off with the book grasped in her hands. She was excited to start. This was it, the first real step in separating herself from the crowd, in a good way that is. She wouldn't need to be coddled and protected as she had all her life.  
  
Malfoy watched her as she left the library.  
  
'This wasn't part of the plan, not even close, I'm going to have to reconfigure it around the Little Weasel, unless of course her Animagus turns out to be something completely opposite to mine. Probably will be too considering her place in that muggle-loving family. Despite her recent show of brash courage in seeking me out, she's generally a timid insignificant creature. Let me see, a mouse? No, maybe a bunny, a hedgehog?' He smirked to himself as he continued to guess what shy little rodent Weasley would become.  
  
'No worries, I won't have to deal with her beyond tomorrow.'  
  
A/N: Thank you again to all my reviewers new and old, you encourage me to no end to keep at it. Cheers!- proserpina 


	5. Chapter Five: Not a hedgehog?

Disclaimer: Don't own HP universe, nor the ancient roman quote, it's from Thyestes, just my plot.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
The next evening in the library Draco expected the Little Weasel to come in looking defeated.  
  
He sat there expectantly, waiting to get this over with so he could continue learning and honing his skills in peace.  
  
However, he never expected her to waltz in the library like she won the House Cup. She plopped down in the chair across from him, mirroring the night before, except this time she didn't look remotely nervous or intimidated.  
  
"Teach me." She grinned at him; she couldn't help exuding giddiness.  
  
Draco appraised her, much like he had weeks ago on the Hogwarts Express.  
  
'Not bad to look at, despite the fact that she's a Weasley and a muggle- lover. Definitely not a Slytherin the way she wears her emotions all over her face, but she'll be easier to handle that way, though she does have spirit, I'll give her that. Plus, she's got a quick wit which ought to be entertaining, hell... why the fuck not...I can handle this little pixie. Though really, there is snowball's chance in Hades realm that her Animagus is related to mine.'  
  
Draco had come to a decision. However, he decided to have a little fun with her anyway, things may have changed for him since Lucius got carted off, but that didn't mean he still didn't enjoy watching Weasleys turn bright pink in the face. They were just so damn easy to bait.  
  
"No."  
  
"But Malfoy.. you said, you said last night that.. that..."  
  
Ginny felt her hopes crashing down.  
  
She'd been up for hours last night in the common room, after everyone went to bed, discovering her Animagus, and when she did, she was so excited. It was definitely closely related to his....  
  
The look of utter despair on the Little Weasel's face was almost enough to make Malfoy roll his eyes at her. Almost, of course because Malfoys never did anything that plebeian and uncouth in public.  
  
"Gullible Little Weasel aren't you?" he sneered in her direction.  
  
"You should know that a Malfoy does not back out of one's word. However, I find it difficult to believe that your form could be even closely related to mine."  
  
Ginny just stared up at him, emotions whipping across her face, disappointment bubbled into anger then skyrocketed to hope. She just sat and stared, not realizing that she was supposed to say something.  
  
Malfoy raised an enquiring eyebrow at her, as if to prompt her into action. Hardly believing that he was giving up minutes of his precious time for this classless miscreant.  
  
"Ohh" she breathed out with immediate understanding. Her form, he wanted to see for himself that the Animagus was related.  
  
She held out her palm and tapped it twice with her wand and murmured 'Aparicium Animagi'. Slowly a small hologram began to appear, floating a few centimeters above her palm. It was a perfect, miniature, red-tailed hawk. The bird hologram rotated above her palm, turning her head sharply, this way and that as if it was searching for prey.  
  
Malfoy stared at the little figure rotating on her palm.  
  
'Fucked.'  
  
He thought to himself as realization sunk in.  
  
'Bloody Malfoys and their bloody not going back on their word. Make wizards respect the name, you thought, be all honourable and shite... good going Draco, you're stuck with the Little Weasel now, no amount of Slytherin slinking can get you out of this.'  
  
Malfoy closed his eyes briefly, the only outward show of his inner monologue and struggle for control. He calmed down, resigning himself to his fate.  
  
He picked up a dark, dragon-hide covered notebook that had been on top of his stack of texts. Ginny watched apprehensively as he flicked his wand at it and spoke a simple replicating charm. He tossed the copy to her, noticing her reluctance to take the journal. He looked at her with veiled concern in his eyes, shaking his head slightly, just one more thing his father had managed to bugger up royally. Now that Draco was older he could see that Lucius, by making an eleven-year old do his dirty work for the Dark Lord, had sunk to a new all time low. His little scene at the end of that year had been disgraceful as well. No class, really.  
  
"It won't write back, Little Weasel" he told her in a tone she had never heard before. She looked at him with confusion on her face. "It's just my notebook recording the process of becoming an Animagus. I had to learn by trial and error, you will be fortunate enough to learn from my mistakes. I will not have you slowing down my progress by having to push and prod you along, I will give you a month to reach my level, if you are not at my level by that time the lessons will end, understood?"  
  
He waited for her nod of comprehension.  
  
"Owl me when you are ready to commence your tutorial." Malfoy stood, gathered his books, and with a brief nod left the library.  
  
As Draco stalked back to rooms in the dungeons he pondered this new and completely unexpected challenge that had appeared in his life. But, if his new life experience had taught him anything over the past year was that to survive one had to accept and adapt quickly to any unsavory situations that presented themselves, and then to slowly turn them in your favour. He had been tough on Weasley, he knew it, but he had to test her conviction to doing this, if it was just a passing fancy he would be wasting both of their time. But, by Merlin, if she managed to get up to his level in a month, when it had taken him three, then she deserved to practice with him. Far be it that a Malfoy would refuse to give credit where credit is due.  
  
As Malfoy exited the library, Ginny grasped the smooth notebook in her hands, noticing the perfect binding and tiny stitching around the cover. She steeled herself and slowly lifted the cover.  
  
On the inside fly page there was an inscription:  
  
**'Men compelled by fear to praise, may be by fear compelled to hate. He, who desires to win sincere approval will seek it in the Heart, not on the Tongue.'  
**  
Ginny paused while reading this, perplexed as to its meaning concerning the owner of the notebook. It seemed terribly.. deep, and completely incongruous for a prat like Malfoy to write in the journal. Besides the inscription, she noticed as she flipped through the book, there was nothing of a personal nature. The pages were filled with small, neat cursive and detailed drawings and wings, feathers and wind patterns.  
  
Ginny couldn't wait to get started.  
  
A/N: Thanks guys! You rock out! I promise more chps soon. I've got a few more already written they just need to be edited etc. Bye for now!- proserpina


	6. Chapter Six: Lessons Commence

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from the HP universe. I humbly bow down to the characters that JKR has created.  
  
**Chapter Six**  
  
Ginny cautiously made her way down to the dungeons, trying to hurry as quietly as possible, so as not to attract any attention, to her very first Animagi lesson. She hoped she wasn't late, she was worried that Malfoy would call it off, despite the blackmail, if she failed miserably as his student.  
  
She creaked the door open and saw Malfoy casually sitting at a table flipping through his own notebook. He looked up at her as she entered, his face showing a hint of annoyance at her tardiness.  
  
"You're late." He snapped.  
  
"I am not." Ginny retorted, hoping to sound convincing.  
  
"Yes, you are, Weasel," he drawled at her. "My patience is not infinite."  
  
"Fine!" she gave up. "I'm late. I admit it. Are you happy, now? You try sneaking out of the common room with Ron and 'Mione snogging on the couch."  
  
Malfoy's face drew into a look of utter disgust at the mental image of those.. _two_.. locked in a passionate embrace. He chuckled inwardly at her bravado, she sure knew how to change the subject to her advantage.  
  
"Congratulations, Little One," Malfoy said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You have now officially scarred me for life."  
  
Ginny grinned at him triumphantly. "You? I was the one that saw them." She wrinkled up her nose at the thought. Yuck!  
  
"You are far more cruel then you previously led me to believe." Malfoy continued, shaking his head, trying to escape the image she had put there.  
  
"Enough. Now, are you ready to commence?"  
  
She nodded excitedly, and with a curt nod himself, he began to lecture her about the mechanics and biology of their Animagi. From reading his notebook, Ginny had learned that knowing your Animagus form inside and out, literally, was the key to proper transformation. One can't just run headlong into trying to transform without proper previous study, painful and often irreversible side effects occurred, in fact, she had heard that there was a special room in St. Mungo's for all the unfortunate dunderheads that had blundered into Animagi transformation without the proper background. Which made it all the more amazing that Malfoy, on his own, had gotten so far without hurting himself.  
  
Ginny listened rapt attention as Malfoy lectured, taking reams of notes in her replicate notebook. The time flew by and Ginny, glancing at her watch was surprised to discover how late it had gotten.  
  
"Sweet Proserpina!" she exclaimed, interrupting Malfoy, who as quickly snapped out of his lecture mode.  
  
"It's past midnight, Malfoy, I should really get back to the tower before Loverboy discovers I'm missing."  
  
Malfoy merely nodded in response. He hadn't meant to talk for so long, in fact, he probably hadn't talked this much to anyone for this length of time in ages, if ever. But once he had gotten into the topic, and with her hanging on his every word, his excitement for the subject carried him along and he was just as surprised as she was when they discovered they'd been working for hours.  
  
Ginny gathered up her notebook, her ink and quills and got up to go. Before she left though she looked over at Malfoy, who was studiously making a note in his own notebook.  
  
"For a teacher, you're not so bad, you know?" she grinned, the excitement caused by all the new knowledge swimming around in her head.  
  
"Owl me soon about when the next lesson will be. G'night." And without waiting for a reply, she snuck out the door and crept quietly back up to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

After three weeks and fifteen lessons of intensive lectures and training Draco was suitably impressed by Weasley's progress. Sure it had helped that he had done all the previous research for it but he grudgingly had to admit that she was doing really well, not that he would ever admit that to her of course, ruin his image really.  
  
A strange camaraderie had developed between them over the past weeks. They would casually banter back and forth when they met to practice, usually it was creative insults that were understood as veiled greetings and small talk, both knew by now not to take anything personally. There were subjects that were acknowledged as 'off topic' for insults, including anything to do with the Dark Lord/Tom Riddle or his father.  
  
They had come to a truce about this after a particularly unproductive lesson when Weasley had joked about his father being proud of him now. The lesson had ended abruptly with Draco going quiet and cold then storming out of the classroom. Draco had refused to continue until Ginny had pleaded and threatened him in the back of the library the day afterwards. He had accepted her apology and continued lessons, but at times, there was tension between the two when either's banter would graze the limits they had set for each other.  
  
However, despite the odd bit of tension they worked together rather well, both keen on succeeding.

* * *

One cool night in early November found them progressing well. Draco was carefully reading a text on thermal geometry in the empty classroom in the deep dungeon that had become their regular practice room, when he glanced up at the little red head across the room. She was attempting to transform into her Animagus, but couldn't hold the concentration long enough. As soon as she'd start to get smaller and feathered she pop back out into her human form. Worse still, she was getting very frustrated with it all.  
  
When Draco looked at his silver pocket watch he realized why, she'd been at it for two hours, just popping back and forth, back and forth, it'd be enough to make anyone tense. As he continued watching her become more and more riled up, with her face pinking up and her fists starting to clench, he found the corners of his lips twitching up into an unaccustomed smile, laughter starting to bubble up within him. She just looked so .. cute.. trying and trying to no avail.  
  
Finally, he could no longer hold it in and let out a small chuckle. Weasley turned quickly to stare at him.  
  
"What? Do you think this is funny Mister Malfoy? Do you think I like failing miserably at this? Hmm?"  
  
He continued to chuckle, shaking his head at her in answer to questions, but not saying a word.  
  
She threw her hands up, exasperated.  
  
"Fine, laugh, I know I'm no ruddy good at this." And she promptly threw herself in a chair opposite him and slumped defeated. The dejection on her face brought Draco out of his amusement. And prompted him to say something that rarely came from his lips. A compliment.  
  
"Weasley, for Merlin's sake, lighten up, it's not that you're not good at this, it just takes time." He appraised her sitting there across from him, his words surprising gentle and surprising lacking sarcasm.  
  
"I'd say, as your professor, of course, you've done a brill job in the, what, month you've been working on this."  
  
She looked up at his statement, unbelieving, raising her eyes to his.  
  
"You really think so?" she pondered, chewing on her lower lip.  
  
Draco was unsure of how to answer this. This wasn't the spitfire Weasley who bantered and blackmailed, nor was this the studious Weasley he lectured to about aerodynamics. This.. this.. this was a lonely little girl who looked so innocent and honest and trusting...  
  
_Damn you Draco snap out of it!_ He gave her a curt nod, then stood and placed a hand on her shoulder in what he thought would be a reassuring gesture. What would Snape do? No, wait bad example, Gryffs never responded well to his teaching methods.. er, okay Dumbledore, what would he say.  
  
"You can do it, little one, just try to relax a little more, push everything from your mind except what you're concentrating on, it'll work, trust me." And with that he gathered his bag and swirled out of the room, leaving a slightly more hopeful Ginny behind.  
  
Draco, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what in all of Hades realms had just happened.  
  
'I'm really getting soft now that Lucius isn't around to rough me up any more.' He thought as he threw himself down on his bed, staring at the dark canopy above.  
  
_Malfoys don't show weakness, Malfoys aren't nice, Malfoys demand respect, Malfoys don't show weakness, Malfoys aren't nice, Malfoys demand res....  
_  
And so continued his mantra until he drifted off to sleep. At the back of his mind though he knew it was hopeless, 'Shit' the little voice taunted him 'You know it's hopeless Draco, you want someone to trust you, you want someone to see the real you, you want a friend...'  
  
As Ginny returned to the common room that night, she noticed a new memo pinned up on the message board. 'Looks like Quidditch practice got changed from tomorrow morning to tomorrow night, yah! I can sleep in' she thought. 'Wait, bloody hell, I'm supposed go to the dungeons tomorrow night and practice with Malfoy.' She looked at her watch. 'And now it's too late to owl him, well maybe I can catch him tomorrow morning before breakfast and let him know.'

* * *

Ginny found herself skulking around the empty dungeons the next morning, hoping that Malfoy was an early-riser so she could catch him by himself on his way to breakfast. She saw him just as he turned into corridor where his secret entrance opened onto, though of course she didn't know where it led at the time. At first she didn't recognize him, he wasn't in his robes, nor was his hair all slicked back, but mussed and rumpled instead. He was wearing shorts, trainers, a t-shirt? He had just pulled off his swacket and Ginny could see well-defined arms as he walked by. His casual dress had momentarily stunned Ginny but she quickly snapped out of it and jogged to catch up with him.  
  
"Oi, Malfoy." She called. He just continued walking. It appeared that he hadn't heard her, so she tried again.  
  
"Malfoy, wait up." She didn't think he was purposely ignoring her. She actually thought that they were starting to overcome that whole childish silence and name-calling thing.  
  
'Ah well' she shrugged and reached out as she caught up with him and grabbed his left upper arm to get his attention.  
  
"What the fu.." Malfoy said, turning around. In fact, he hadn't heard Weasley at all, he had been too immersed in his own thoughts as he often was after a morning run. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to stand in a hot shower and let the water course over him. Weasley had surprised him. Her touch jolted him around to face her.  
  
Ginny, who had been on the verge of speech, stopped suddenly as Malfoy faced her, her hand still rested on his arm. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in this different Malfoy; this sweaty, rumpled, _Oh Sweet Proserpina!,_ she could even see his bare arms, she was still touching his toned bicep! _Eep_!  
  
She took in all the details quickly and even grimaced at the sentence written across the chest on his black t-shirt "Hi. I don't care. Thanks." When her eyes finally hit his face, she took in Malfoy's raised eyebrows, questioning her appraisal of him. He had a faint smirk of his face. He could tell from the look on her face that she approved.  
  
Ginny blushed profusely and looked down, embarrassed with her reaction to this different man. Her hand came slowly off his arm. As she did this her eyes flicked to the smooth skin of his inner forearm. Her eyes only briefly rested there but Malfoy wasn't the second best Seeker in the school for nothing, his sharp eyes noticed her glance and he reacted with fury. He thought _she_, especially after all the time they had spent together practicing their Animagi, would have given him the benefit of the doubt when it came to that. But no, she was just like everyone else...  
  
"Have a good look, Weasel." He spat at her, offering his arm to her. Ginny noted it's smooth, unmarred surface. No tattoo, no Dark Mark, making him at the beck and call of his Lord. She began to stutter an apology but decided instead to bravely raise her gaze to meet his. She wasn't scared of him anymore, she knew his secret, and she had power too.  
  
Malfoy realized this as well as he held her gaze. He could no longer boss this little pixie around as he used to do. He let out a small breath and leaned up against the wall of the empty corridor. He needed to explain, she deserved to know, so he spoke plainly to her.  
  
"Do you honestly think that I would be stupid enough to get something like that carved into my flesh?"  
  
"Well.." Ginny answered quickly, unsure. "Everyone just always figured that since your father.. and well..the company you've been keeping the past few years.. everyone just supposed..." she trailed off staring into his cold, stormy grey eyes.  
  
"That I was a mindless follower? You have got to be joking Weasley. Even you, who may I add, are the only company I've been keeping this year," he continued, "know me enough to know that I was never quite cut out to be an incipient follower. I found it better to leave the groveling to my dear father, and we all know where that got him, hmm?"  
  
"Now," he crossed his arms and looked at her evenly, with neither malice nor kindness in his eyes, only guarded indifference.  
  
"Was there a reason for this impromptu meeting or did you just come to admire the scenery?" He smirked.  
  
Ginny hadn't expected the long speech, and she had stood there rooted to the floor as he spoke, but the smirk on his face now snapped her out of it.  
  
"Er..yes, just wanted to let you know that my Quidditch practice has been moved so I can't make it until ten tonight, okay? Thought I'd be nice and let you know." She finished, shifting back and forth on her feet, unsure of herself under his watchful gaze again.  
  
Malfoy gave her a curt nod.  
  
"Now, if you'll excuse me." And with that he turned down the corridor and walked away towards his suite entrance. Ginny turned in the opposite direction and headed towards the Great Hall and breakfast, pretending to mirror Malfoy's confidant stride as she went.  
  
Both Draco and Ginny tried to brush off this strange encounter as they left. They each tried to justify the meeting, as no different and certainly less significant than the hours upon hours they had spent together working on their Animagi, but somehow, they couldn't quite shake it off.  
  
Draco, as he gratefully stripped away his sweaty clothes and stepped into the hot shower found himself absently rubbing his arm where her hand had been. It had caused a strange prickle in him, almost like a crackle of raw magic and he couldn't explain it.  
  
Ginny was just happy if she could keep the image of the toned and unkempt Malfoy out of her head. She had noticed the crackle too, and the surprising warmth of his smooth skin. She shook her head to clear it and chuckled to herself, what was she thinking, this was **Draco Malfoy**, only her means to an end, right?.Author's etc.: More chapters soon, hopefully by tomorrow! Yay! Xxoo's to all my reviewers, and to you, who is reading this, right this very second, you know you want to review, it would make me smile! Cheers! -sweetproserp 


	7. Chapter Seven: Apologies and Sherbert Le...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the culinary skills to make Norwegian pancakes.  
  
**Chapter Seven  
**  
The lesson that night began without the usual banter. Both were on edge because of the encounter that morning. So, instead they dove right into their work, learning about the mechanics of flying and the influence of winds and temperature on it. They were preparing for their first flight outdoors, it would be very soon as Draco could hold his form for an hour easily and Ginny would be able to do the same by the end of the week.  
  
As the hours passed by the tension in the room began to ease, replaced with a more comfortable companionable silence as each studied their respective texts. By midnight though, they were ready to call it a night. Draco checked his pocketwatch and closed his book.  
  
"Might as well stop for tonight," he said, looking over at Weasley who was fighting to keep her eyes open.  
  
"You look exhausted, Little One." He rubbed his temples with his fingertips.  
  
He'd given up being angry with her hours ago. He had just found it impossible to hold a grudge against this little red-headed pixie in front of him, who was trying so hard to accomplish her Animagus. He sighed inwardly, chastising himself for admiring her determination. This wasn't the first time he had admired her drive and focus during a lesson. It was written all over her face how much she wanted this for herself, to prove to herself and the world that she was something, that she existed as a power unto herself.  
  
Reflecting on it, he figured that she reminded him of himself, especially the way he had been at the beginning of last summer.  
  
'Funny,' he thought, 'who would have thought that I would willingly compare myself with a Weasley, and in a good light as well.' He got up from where he sat, gathered his books and started to leave the room when Ginny gathered up the courage to call out to him.  
  
"Malfoy, wait up a tick."  
  
Ginny had felt progressively more guilty as the day waned about her encounter with Malfoy that morning, and although she hadn't really said anything to him to make him mad, she knew she should never have looked at his forearm. She had crossed one of those boundaries they had set, worse still, Ginny knew that what he said had been right. She did know him well enough by now to know that he was not a follower of the Dark Lord. She still wasn't sure of his reasons for becoming an Animagus, but she knew, somehow, that they had nothing to do with infiltrating the Order or spying on the Light.  
  
The two of them had spent tens of hours alone together, studying, learning, even joking around and he had never been cruel or evil. Sure, he was sarcastic and sometimes his comments were cutting but Ginny knew it wasn't personal, it was just how he was and she accepted that and was used to it. In fact, she probably would have been more alarmed if he had suddenly become all sugary sweet towards her.  
  
As Ginny pondered over these facts all day she became even more certain that what she had done was wrong. Malfoy had been a good teacher, passionate about the subject, he had been patient with her as she struggled to understand concepts and theories, almost as if he wanted her to succeed at this, he had kept his end of the bargain and then some. He had, Ginny admitted though strange as it may seem, become a friend. And in Ginny's world, friends don't hurt other friends, and if they ever do they suck up their pride and apologize.  
  
"About this morning.." Ginny began, looking up at him.  
  
"It's forgotten Weasley," he brushed her off, wanting just to leave, not wanting to get into another argument with her.  
  
"No, Malfoy, it's not, and I just wanted.."  
  
"Listen, Weasley, it happens all right? I don't blame you for being curious like the rest of them, you had the chance to see if all the rumors were true, right? Now can I please leave?" He finished, always the gentleman. Though his poise was ruined when he lapsed into his old bad habit of running his hand through his hair, mussing its perfection. He was tired, and the Little Weasel wanted to bring this up now?  
  
"No, I don't want to be like everyone else," she said, summoning all her Gryffindor courage, "I want to say that I'm sorry."  
  
This brought one of Malfoy's eyebrows up in surprise. No one had ever apologized for calling him a Death Eater before.  
  
"It wasn't fair of me to do that, it's not fair for anyone to base their opinion of someone on assumptions. It was stupid of me, really it was. I know you aren't like those people, aren't like your father..." she trailed off, looking up at him once again, unable to read the expression, as usual. She should have felt better right away after getting that off her chest, but she didn't, she was waiting for his reaction, and he knew it.  
  
The corner of his mouth twitched up, as if yearning to smile through his cool façade, but he held it in place.  
  
"That's for damn sure Weasley." He drawled, nodding politely to her and leaving the classroom. Ginny's face lit up, in his own way he had accepted her apology, her conscience had been assuaged.

* * *

A few days later, as Ginny was exiting the Great Hall with Ron, Harry and Hermione after supper she halted when she heard her name called out.  
  
"Miss. Weasley" the kind voice said. She stopped, as did the Trio and turned in the direction the voice was coming from. She saw Headmaster Dumbledore approach them, his eyes faintly twinkling.  
  
"Ah, Miss Weasley, there you are."  
  
"Hello Headmaster." She looked up at him, smiling.  
  
"I was wondering if you'd be so kind and join me in my office for a few minutes." He continued. The Trio looked at her suspiciously, wondering what she had done that warranted the attention of the Headmaster.  
  
"Sure." She replied, though with some trepidation, he couldn't have found out about her and Malfoy.. at least she didn't think he could have. She was brought out of her thoughts by Ron, who started questioning her.  
  
"Ginny, what's this all about? Do you want us to wait for you?" He asked, knowing that if they did they could find out what this was all about sooner. 'She wasn't in trouble again, was she?' he hoped, his big brother radar alerted.  
  
"No Ron, you guys just get going." She waved them away as she started walking with the Headmaster to his office, "I'll be fine!"  
  
They climbed the stairs to his office, Ginny still giggling at the password 'fizzy pop', and then comfortably settled themselves in his office.  
  
"Now Miss Weasley," he said, giving her a knowing look and beginning with his favourite saying, "is there something you wish to tell me?" Ginny saw the mischevious glint in his eye and gasped. He knew! But how?  
  
"But how Headmaster? We've been so cautious, we haven't even been outside yet."  
  
"Ah, I know many things about this castle, sherbert lemon? I think I'll have one too. Where was I? Ah yes, well I am not Headmaster for nothing, you know." His eyes suddenly became serious.  
  
"Miss Weasley, I will not stop you from doing this, I can see how important this is to you. Knowing strong magic is great feat, and one to take pride in, however, there is always something greater..." He trailed off, a small smile peeking out of his white beard, "but that lesson will come soon enough, and always when least expected."  
  
Ginny looked at him in mild confusion, 'Well', she thought, 'he always was a little batty.' And shrugged.  
  
"I must caution you though, as I am in charge of the safety of all my students, please be careful, it is a very dangerous thing you are doing. Promise me you will never practice alone, just in case."  
  
"I promise, sir!" she replied, nodding emphatically.  
  
"Very well," he grinned, "oh, and I trust you will pass this on to your accomplice?" he winked.  
  
She grinned back at him. "Course, Headmaster."  
  
"As well, I wanted to inform you that I have scheduled you both for testing and registration at the end of February. Under no circumstances can I have unregistered Animagi running, or shall I say, flying, around Hogwarts as problems have occurred in the past. Anyways, I presume you will both be prepared by then?"  
  
She nodded again. 'Eek! How long had the Headmaster been some omniscient deity', she wondered to herself.  
  
"Alright Miss Weasley, I believe there is a very curious threesome waiting in the common room for you right now, thank you for your time."  
  
Ginny got up to leave, her mind already working on numerous excuses to give her brother about why she had to visit the Headmaster, but was stopped on her way to the door as she heard the Headmaster call to her gently,  
  
"I'm sure you'll think of something good Miss Weasley, and never fear, your secret is safe with me. Good luck Miss Weasley!"  
  
Eyes widening in surprise, she hurried out of Dumbledore's office, 'if Dumbledore weren't a kind and considerate old wizard, he would be really starting to creep me out..' she thought as she retreated up to Gryffindor Tower mentally preparing herself for the Dream Team Inquisition that awaited her. 


	8. Chapter Eight: One Giant Leap

Disclaimer: Sorry, still don't own the HP universe, which is why I have to go to work tomorrow and sell packets of m&m's for outrageously inflated prices to circus goers. Honest.  
  
**Chapter Eight  
**  
Finally the night of their first flight had arrived. Malfoy had been carefully watching the weather and this one, a crisp, misty one in late November was deemed suitable. There was a gentle breeze that would help them with lift but which wasn't strong enough to knock them around.  
  
They had decided to practice behind the Quidditch pitch, thinking that any eyes looking out from Hogwarts wouldn't be able to see them because the stands were in the way.  
  
'Overall,' reflected Ginny after the practice was over, 'it was an exhausting experience.'  
  
Both had succeeded in getting off the ground and skimming a couple of feet off of it for about ten seconds, only to lose concentration and crash unceremoniously into the turf. It happened over and over again. Ginny had stopped a quarter of an hour ago, her body unable to take the abuse any longer, but Malfoy refused to quit so quickly. And so, Ginny lay in the grass half reclining with her upper body propped up by her elbows so she could watch him work.  
  
His Animagus was brilliant, more so now then when she had first seen it in that dank dungeon all those months ago. She watched as the majestic golden eagle, nicknamed Talon, swooped slowly above the ground, and cringed as he once again tumbled into the grass. He would hardly be able to get up tomorrow morning she as sure of it. She had tried to get him to stop and rest but he wouldn't, he'd just snapped at her and kept going, his determination fierce.  
  
A half an hour later, however, Ginny was in no mood to be bullied, she couldn't take watching him anymore. 'Was he trying to kill himself?'  
  
"Gods Malfoy, that's enough! Quit it, if you don't stop this instant, you'll kill yourself, let alone not be able to practice more any time soon. Ever think about that, hm? It'll be your fault if we fall behind and fail the tests!"  
  
Her temper was getting the better of her, but if that's what it took to stop him from torturing himself, so be it.  
  
He fell for the last time beside her, collapsed in the grass, mumbling curses under his breath, unaware of Ginny's presence and frustrated at his inability to stay in the air. Ginny sat up and shifted, turning to look at him, making sure he was still in one piece.  
  
Her movement brought his mind back into focus and he slowly pulled himself up into sitting position, he unconsciously ran a hand through his hair trying to rid himself of that wind tossed look he had acquired from the flights and the falls. His face, as always was schooled into it's cool façade as he stared out into the night.  
  
"Harder then it looks eh Weasley?" he admitted quietly.  
  
"Sweet Proserpina, Malfoy, that's the understatement of the century. By the way, what did you think you were doing, why didn't you stop sooner." She admonished, and grimaced as she watched a purple bruise start to form along his jaw. "Holy Hades, you look like you just battled a dozen mountain trolls." She reached for his cheek to assess the damage but he pushed her away, afraid of what that touch might mean.  
  
"Why?" she asked softly as he continued to stare into the night. "Why do you need this? Why do you want this so badly?" In all these months she had never asked for an explanation, she had just trusted and accepted and told herself that it wasn't any of her business. Somehow, though, tonight, she felt like she could ask the question that had always been at the back of her mind.  
  
She watched as the muscles in his bruised jaw tensed, his head turned and his icy gaze met hers. 'She never asked for explanations before,' thought Draco, who had been glad about that, but now, now it seemed right to say something at the very least. They had worked so hard together, they had struggled and triumphed.  
  
"Because I want to have the choice." He replied evenly, his expression never wavering. 'I doubt she'd ever understand that' he thought to himself.  
  
Ginny narrowed her eyes, confused by his answer, wishing for the first time, that he was more like her brother who wore his emotions so clearly on his face, one never had to ask him the whys and wherefores. But Malfoy was different, she had this feeling in the back of her mind the he was always planning, always calculating how to turn every situation to his advantage. 'The distinction of a true Slytherin,' she supposed.  
  
"I don't understand Malfoy, make me understand." She sighed, hoping somehow, that her new friend could be less complicated. Ginny rose from the cold ground and began to walk back to the castle, not bothering to wait for an answer she thought would never come.  
  
"Wait." Malfoy said sharply, also rising. Not knowing that by speaking this single word it would change the world for these two young adults. It could bridge the void that had once been so immense between them.  
  
Ginny turned to face him. He stared at her, torn as he watched the breeze whipping her fiery red hair into the air as the wind picked up. Her golden eyes questioned his, eyebrow quirking up as she watched his internal struggle. She waited patiently for him.  
  
"Damn you, Weasley!" Malfoy spat, as he broke eye contact with her.  
  
And then it happened, his cool façade, his icy shell, cracked.  
  
Ginny watched in amazement as emotion took over his face, confusion, hope, understanding, trust, determination and others raced across his face as he began to shout .  
  
"Of course you don't understand, how could you, you with the torturous pressures of a loving family that doesn't give a shit about power and prestige. These are the pressures I've been born with, had to live with, and watched people kill for. I've had fucking enough of it. I don't want to kill or grovel for power like my father did. I want to create my own and I can, did you see me Ginny, I can fly! We can do anything, this is just the first of many. We will be our own fucking masters!" His anger diffusing in heavy exhalation, taking in a sobering breath he shook his head, clearing it.  
  
"I respect Dumbledore, Gin, you know why? Because he understands the fluidity of power. Power can be used and bandied about by wizards like insults on the Quidditch pitch. It's useless that way, fleeting and uncontrollable. Real power, the kind you can create and possess solely by yourself, the kind of power that has the potential to crush others and yet to be able to choose not to wield it, makes one all the more powerful. What I create is mine, call me selfish if you must but I refuse to share it with those sniveling Death Eaters, or that goody goody Potter. I'm keeping it to myself, for myself." He turned and strode towards the castle, looking regal and defiant, despite his bruises and the grass stains that soiled trousers, as he left his robes swirled and billowed in the wind.  
  
Ginny was shocked by his sudden outburst, yet relieved that he could trust her with such information only managed to whisper as his form retreated into the night, "But Draco, you shared it with me..."

* * *

'So he is human.' Ginny pondered to herself from her comfy chair in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny had climbed up there not long after Malfoy had strode away from their practice session. Ginny was, or so it appeared to everyone else in the room, reviewing her Astronomy charts, but in reality, Ginny found herself staring into the fire and dismantling Malfoy's shouted explanation. It had been a lot to take in.  
  
Strangely, no matter how many times she went over it, she found that it made perfect sense for someone in Malfoy's position to believe as he did. In all honesty she had never really considered his life and the different pressures he had had to deal with. Malfoy longed for control of his own destiny. Ginny may have considered herself overprotected by her family, but at least she was free to make her own mistakes and learn from them, make her own friends, choose her own husband etc., without fear of retribution. Malfoy's life had been dictated by his powerful father and to overcome his fate, Malfoy had to create his own power, build his own system of respect within the wizarding world. And he chose to do it through skill not fear, as his father had done.  
  
Malfoy did like control. 'Merlin' she thought, remembering back to that day in the library when he had sent her crashing through emotions though she had been the one who was doing the blackmail. She giggled at the memory. 'We've come a long way from there, that's for certain.'  
  
'He trusted me enough tonight to let me glimpse what the real Malfoy is like, the person he is and more importantly to him, the person he wants to be.' The warmth of the fire and the squashiness of the chair were beginning to have an effect on the exhausted young woman. Her Astronomy charts fell to the floor as she began to drift, but right before her eyes drooped shut a disconcerting thought entered her mind.  
  
'He called me Ginny...hmm...that's funny, I wonder why..,' and with that she winked off to sleep. It never occurred to her, that in the honesty of Malfoy's speech, she too, had called him Draco.  
  
A/n: You lucky readers you! Two chapters today! Sorry for the relative shortness of this one! But I am warning you, you'll have to wait for a few days til the next chapter is ready to go, it's written but it has to be typed and edited a little. Thank you for all the great reviews. Chocolate cake with sprinkles to each and every one of you! -sweetproserp 


	9. Chapter Nine: Young Icharus

Quick A/N's: I apologize to my loyal readers for not getting this out sooner, but I promise it's worth the wait. _grin _Oh, and this chappie is dedicated to Holly, the bestest little sister (insomuch as that is possible seeing that we are technically unrelated but share the same love of HP, weren't those BB beans good, I still like the dirt, b/c it really feels like dirt!) And never mind your sisters or mum, it's good to have an overactive imagination!  
  
Disclaimer: the characters nor any of the recognizable HP universe are mine, just the plot.  
  
Chapter Nine (and boy is it a doozy) Young Icharus  
  
Ginny sat quietly crunching on toast the morning of the last day of school before Christmas hols. She was listening to Ron, her captain, dissect their last Quidditch match and what drills she should practice at before the next game in the New Year.  
  
Ginny was just about to comment on a new tactic when a school owl landed in front of her with a note for her. She untied the message, gave the owl some crusts and watched him fly away. She was about to put it in her robe pocket when Ron chirped up.  
  
"Aren't you going to read it?"  
  
Ginny had a sneaking suspicion who had sent it and didn't think it was wise to open it at a table full of Gryffindors.  
  
"Well?" Ron continued. Now more than interested due to Ginny's pause.  
  
"Come to think of it Gin, you have been getting lots of owls lately. It's..it's..." he stuttered "not from a ..boy...is it?"  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother, trying to hide a smirk, if he only knew who the sender was he'd go nutters, She decided the best plan of action would be to be direct and lie, lie, lie. So, she carefully unrolled the message, making sure only she could see what was written.  
  
_Weasley, _

_Good wind tonight. Everyone distracted with Ball, give us a chance to stretch our wings. Meet me an hour after the Ball has begun, in the side corridor by the front doors. _

_D.M.  
_  
"Blast!" Cursed Ginny under her breath. 'Of all the nights to practice!' She had looked forward to this dance for weeks. Her dress alone had taken her two weeks to create with complicated stitching spells.  
  
"Something s'matter?" Ron asked, his mouth full of bacon and egg.  
  
"No, no; just a friend in..er.. Hufflepuff," she stuttered, "who can't stay for the Ball tonight." She answered.  
  
"Who is it?" Ron asked, after swallowing his huge mouthful of breakfast.  
  
"Oh, no one you'd know, just some Hufflepuff."  
  
"Your.. boyfriend?" Ron had trouble getting that out but his curiosity and big brother instincts were just dying to know. Narrowing his eyes at Ginny and really looking at her for the first time in ages, he realized that she was a cute, impressionable, young girl and that other boys might notice that too and lure her away.  
  
"No!" Ginny replied vehemently. "Just a friend."  
  
"I don't know Gin, still sounds awful suspicious to me.." he replied, leaving the sentence dangling there, waiting for the truth.  
  
"Oh, Ron, you're too much of a big brother for your own good," she patronized, "I'm allowed to have my secrets." She ended, then backtracked, deciding to unseat him a little to really get her message across. She casually glanced in Hermione's direction, then back at Ron.  
  
"Just like you have yours!" She concluded with a grin. Ron suddenly turned a shade of vibrant red and Ginny stood up and with a "Good-bye dear brother- o-mine" she left the Great Hall to get her books and head to class.

* * *

The Yule Ball was well under way when Draco casually eased himself away from his fellow Slytherins and left the Hall. Weasley was still inside he knew, having just glimpsed her dancing, surely out of pity, with Longbottom. As he walked to the predetermined corridor, he couldn't help think that Weasley hadn't looked too damn bad tonight. Where she had got the money for that gorgeous gown only Merlin knows, all he knew was that the silver gown certainly fit in all the right places. Malfoy's thoughts were interrupted as Ginny, herself, came walking into the corridor dressed in the exact gown that he had just been pondering.  
  
"Hope you haven't turned to thievery, Little One, that gown looks like it cost more then the rest of your wardrobe put together." Malfoy remarked almost playfully, giving her a wicked grin and eyeing her up and down.  
  
Ginny knew by now not to take offense. She knew that disguised in all those insults were compliments and a greeting.  
  
"Hello to you too, Malfoy." She smirked. "If you must know, I made this gown myself, took me forever to get the stitching spells just right. Oh, and you're not looking to shabby either."  
  
"Shabby?" Malfoy scoffed, "that word does not enter my vocabulary, let alone my wardrobe, witch."  
  
Both of them grinned at their banter and started walking outside towards the fields behind the Quidditch pitch.  
  
"So, Weasley," Malfoy began. "What in all of Hades realms were you telling that git brother of yours this morning that made him turn such a delightful shade of red? He looked like someone threw a tomato gargantua hex on him and it went terribly wrong."  
  
Ginny glanced up at him.  
  
"Staring at me in the Great Hall are we? Do I need place a 200 metre repelling charm on you, or should I just call the authorities?" She grinned wickedly at him.  
  
Malfoy just stared at her evenly.  
  
"Had to make sure you got the message. I didn't particularly want to stand around in the corridor like a prat forever, now did I?"  
  
"Fair enough." She conceded, wiping the grin off her face and replacing it with a look of pure mischief as she commenced in telling him the whole conversation between her and Ron that had occurred at breakfast. Afterwards hearing the tale, Malfoy started to stagger, hands clutched to his heart.  
  
"Me, a Hufflepuff! Oh, you wound me, you witch! You're killing me, Gin, so slowly you don't think I'll notice, but ugh, a Hufflepuff! He finished dramatically, majestically swooning onto the snow-covered ground. Ginny, unable to hold back any longer, burst into giggles at the sight of Draco Malfoy, court jester.  
  
"See," she gasped between giggles.  
  
"What?" He stood. suddenly alert, and peered cautiously into the night.  
  
"No, you!" She exclaimed as she finally regained her power to speak. "Look how perfectly normal that was, what you just did. There was not one ounce of evil in that performance. In moments like those Draco, you are a completely likable wizard." He looked thoughtfully at her, not only because of what she had just said but because he noticed her use of his given name. Ginny too fell silent and they continued the rest of the way to their practice grounds in companionable quiet.

* * *

"I know it's been more than a week since the last outdoors practice, but the winds haven't been right, still too strong for our skill level. However, this is the last night before holidays and since I have to go home for business, we won't get a chance to practice now for a couple weeks, what with Dumbledore insisting we always practice together. Tonight the winds have improved but" he raised an eyebrow at her, "stay low to avoid the strong gusts, I can't have you die on me. How would I explain it to your prat brother without being forced to join you on the other side?" Malfoy finished lightly.  
  
He turned away from her, ran a couple of steps and leaped into the air, as he did so, he morphed into Talon, caught an updraft and was soaring faster than you could say Quidditch. Ginny was quick to follow, concentrating carefully on all the elements of her animagus. With a simple leap, Red Feather had joined Talon in the dark December sky and began stretching her wings and negotiating the winds. Once they were warmed up, Malfoy took her through a series of rolls, swoops and dives with him leading and her following close behind. After that was done, they split up again to try their own tricks. Ginny was soon exhausted and flew down to the ground, landing a little off kilter and morphing back into human form.  
  
'Still have to practice landings.' She thought with a grimace as she stood, slowly gaining back her balance. She automatically looked to the sky where Talon was still soaring though the air. A little too high perhaps.  
  
'That's too high Draco, stop showing off.' Ginny mumbled to herself as she watched him climb further.  
  
Everything changed in a split second for Draco. In one moment he was riding on a particularly strong updraft, and in the next an eastern wind came roaring along his left side. He tried to compensate for it but failed and now was stuck in a fast downward spiral. It took all of his concentration to keep in Animagus form during the dizzying fall. He managed to stretch his wings back a bit which slowed his descent in jolts, but the ground still seemed to be getting much too close for comfort. Draco's last thought before he lost concentration and transformed back into his human body was the ever eloquent:  
  
'Shit!"  
  
And then, nothing.  
  
He hit the ground with a dull thump and rolled a couple metres, finally resting on his back in the middle of the snowy field.  
  
Ginny had watched this whole incident with horror from the ground. At first, she thought that he had been joking with her, maybe showing off a little, but when he failed to pull himself out of the spiral it was already too late for her to do anything. Her wand was up in her dormitory (as there as no pocket for it in her gown), and there as no way she could have flown up to him fast enough to knock him out of the spiral. As he hit the ground, Ginny was already sprinting to the spot where he lay.  
  
"You can't be dead, Draco, you can't!" She moaned hysterically.  
  
"Wake up, you stupid prat, tease me, terrorize me, anything! Please!" She started shaking him a little and watched as his eyes began to flutter open.  
  
"Mother, I wish to have the pumpkin juice with suppe.." he mumbled.  
  
At that, Ginny's tensions melted away and she burst into laughter. He was alive and he was asking for pumpkin juice. Draco slowly shook the muzzy feeling from his head, and painfully propped himself up on his elbows. The confusion from the fall drained from his mind as he took in his surroundings and examined himself. He couldn't help but notice the near hysterical girl beside him.  
  
"You think this is funny, Weasley." He spat, not believing that she, Ginny Weasley, a bloody mushy Gryffindor, would take his near death so lightly as to laugh at him because of it.  
  
He watched shrewdly as she, kneeling beside him, kept laughing like a maniac. He noticed, suddenly, as her demeanor changed, anger now filled her once gleeful face. She began yelling at him and hitting his upper body nonsensically.  
  
"You stupid, bloody prat, Draco, what were you trying to do? How could you scare me like that?" she sobbed at him.  
  
"Draco, you arrogant, selfish, ego centric, silly, stupid, bast.." She railed at him, tears now falling down her face.  
  
"Shh, hush, Ginny, shhh." He crooned, trying to keep a firm hold on her hands so they'd stop batting him. He tried to console her, something he had never done to anyone before, because he realized in that moment, as she hit him and cursed him with tears streaming that she had been terribly scared that something would happen to him. She had cared about him, Draco Malfoy, a boy whom no one had ever bothered to care about.  
  
"I'm going to be all right," he smiled a genuine smile at her, "see, just a few bumps and bruises. Knocked the wind out me, but I'll be just fine, Gin."  
  
Ginny sniffed, now calming because of the soothing effect of his soft words, and wiped her face with her hand.  
  
"Sorry," she gulped, figuring she must have looked pretty stupid just then. Her reaction to his fall had been so strange.  
  
"I don't know.. _sniff.._ why I just did all that. _Sniff_.. guess I'm just not used to being all helpless like that anymore. I'm.. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, if anything had happened to you..." She left the sentence dangling, and lay back in the field beside Draco, not wanting to look him in the eye; not wanting to see his reaction.  
  
'I am such a slobbering mess,' she thought to herself, 'must be the ruddy Gryffindor in me acting up.'  
  
Draco unpropped his elbows and eased back beside her to lie in the snow. It felt good on his aching muscles.  
  
"Ginny?" He said quietly. "Thank you."  
  
"For what?" She sighed. "I couldn't do anything, I wish I could of, but.."  
  
He blindly grasped her hand in his.  
  
"Thank you, Ginny, for wanting to help me."  
  
They lay there like that, forgetting about the cold and the snow, staring up at the clear sky, both lost in thought. It slowly dawned on Ginny why this was so important to Draco. He had never been fortunate like her, to have grown up with people surrounding him with love. Love and support was a Weasley trait, it ran through the family, just like the red hair and freckles. 'I never realized how lucky I was until now.' She pondered to herself. 'How different his life must be from mine.' Ginny was right, there was no real caring in house run by a Death Eater, help was never offered, only given out if it was paid for in fear, or supplied some form of personal gain. But Ginny, she had just wanted to help Draco because she cared. She wanted him to live, and she admitted to herself, she would have missed him terribly if he had died. It would be hard to imagine her life now without the constant of Draco Malfoy, his jokes and smirks, his passion and determination. He couldn't be replaced in her life by anyone else.  
  
The silence continued until Draco turned his head towards her, and said in a casual manner.  
  
"Ginny, look at me."  
  
She rolled onto her side and propped herself up. She peered into his grey eyes thoughtfully, silently questioning him. In a slow movement, his hand came up to rest against her cheek, and he drew in closer to her, silently asking permission to do what he wanted to do next. It was given as soon as her eyes drifted shut and he brought his mouth down upon hers. Though their lips were both cold, they felt waves of warmth engulfing them. Their kiss intensified and deepened until it began to overwhelm the two teenagers and they fell back into the snow, lying just as they were before the kiss, staring up at the stars.  
  
Their hands were still firmly entangled, pulsating warmth from palm to palm.  
  
As Draco's eyes picked out constellations, his thoughts were everywhere at once. As he picked out his own namesake on the dark cloak of Night, one thought slowed enough to be processed in his conscious mind.  
  
'I never knew it could be like this.' 

A/N's: So how was it? Good? Mushy? Romantic? Scary? Tense? Tell me what you think, you beautiful people you! I would love your feedback. And no worries, the next chappie is already in the works...


	10. Chapter Ten: Gossip and Oatmeal

Disclaimer: I am not nor do I claim to be JKR. This is just me shamelessly borrowing from her.. if I'm just borrowing, does that mean I have to give them back?  
  
Author's etc.: Ack! I am so sorry for not writing sooner. But sometimes muses' take vacations at the most inopportune times. Hopefully my old readers will forgive me, and my new readers will never have to endure it.

**Chapter Ten  
**  
"Hey Draco!" Ginny shouted in greeting as she spotted him leaning against the Pitch stands, waiting for her.  
  
"Hey yourself, Little One." He replied. Letting her give him a light hug. He didn't mind. It seemed natural for some odd reason.  
  
"How was your break? Rake in any good presents? Villas? Small countries? Diamond mines?" She grinned at him.  
  
"Eh, could have been better. Terribly busy with work. Funny, how most people think that being the only male heir to the Malfoy estate is all rainbows and kneazles. It isn't really, well, at least not every day. Barristers made me sign about a thousand different forms and year-end budgets had to be reviewed, not to mention the..." He could almost see her eyes glaze over.  
  
"Forgive me, let's try that again. Holiday was dull and lonely, nobody gave me anything of interest, present company excluded. Thanks by the way." He leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the cheek without thinking about it.  
  
For Christmas, Ginny had made him a new t-shirt to run in. She was very proud of it. It had taken her a whole morning going through her collection of Classics books to find the right saying. It looked like all his other shirts except for the phrase on the front, which read: _"Wit is educated insolence."  
_  
Ginny had also received a present from Draco. It had been under the Christmas tree at the Burrow on Christmas morning and she had been very reluctant to open it in front of everyone when she saw whose handwriting was on the label. However, bullied into it by the Dream Team, and not wanting to appear suspicious, she tore it open for everyone to see. It was a stuffed animal, a Badger more precisely. A note around the neck simply said, '_From your favourite Hufflepuff'_. She had burst out laughing and had garnered strange looks from everyone in the room.  
  
"You too." She smirked at him. "I always knew one day that you would get in touch with your inner Hufflepuff. Though, I never guessed so quickly." She finished, chuckling quietly.  
  
Without warning she took off. Leaping up and then flying high up into the air. Draco followed suit, and they were soon playing a lively game of high altitude tag. Both had missed practice over the holiday.  
  
An hour later, they were back on the ground, sitting propped against the Pitch bleachers.  
  
"Hey Gin, I had an idea over the break."  
  
"Yea, what's that?"  
  
"Well, how would you like to join me at the Slytherin table tomorrow for breakfast."  
  
"Are you off your block? We'd get beaten to a pulp! Well, you'd certainly get beaten to a pulp. I'm not quite sure about me."  
  
"Let me rephrase it then. How about Red Feather join me at breakfast? You know, stir up the crowd a little bit, get them used to seeing a red- tail around, just in case we're spotted on the grounds. Everyone will just assume you're my new Christmas present, and think nothing of it."  
  
"_I'm_ your new Christmas present?" she raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You know what I mean Gin. Plus, it'll give you more practice on concentration."  
  
She grinned at him. "Well, since you put it that way, on behalf of Red Feather I accept the invitation. Now how are we going to do this?"  
  
They spent the next half-hour or so planning the following morning and then, reluctantly headed back to their own dorms and to bed.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and chilly and students were eager to get downstairs for a warm bowl of oatmeal and a hot cup of tea. Ginny tagged along with the Trio but slipped out of sight when they got to the main floor. Draco met her in a side corridor and ushered her over to a large cupboard. She sneaked into it and changed into Red Feather. Draco then casually opened the door, carefully checking to make sure the coast was clear, and let Red Feather hop onto his outstretched arm.  
  
"You ready?" He asked.  
  
The bird nodded.  
  
"We'll only stay a half-hour at the most. I figure you may have trouble concentrating with all those people around."  
  
Red Feather nipped his finger.  
  
"Oww! Okay, okay, you'll do fine. I take it back. Just don't bite, you witch."  
  
Draco proceeded to the Great Hall, letting Red Feather hop up his arm to rest on his shoulder.  
  
He made his way over to the Slytherin table and acted the same as always, eating breakfast and drinking his tea. Occasionally, he would stroke the feathers of the bird, or offer it a bit of toast. He spoke quietly to it.  
  
The rest of the student body had taken notice of Malfoy's new pet immediately and watched as it took off to frolic with the owls when they had come in with the post. None had ever seen quite a bird before, as they are not native to the British Isles. There was a great deal of whispering around the Hall as students wondered what type it was, and how much it had cost. Some even hypothesized that it was a messenger for Voldemort, bred for carrying secret communique between Death Eaters. Well, just Ron Weasley thought that, but nevertheless it was thought. They were all focused so intently on the new feathered inhabitant of Hogwarts that no one, not even Ron, noticed that there was an empty spot at the Gryffindor table.  
  
When Red Feather had made her impromptu flight with the owls. Draco looked toward the Head table to see if Professor Dumbledore had noticed. It seemed he had.  
  
'That man doesn't miss a thing.' Draco thought as he took in the Headmaster's smile and twinkling eyes as he watched the red-tailed hawk swoop lower and lower, skimming the tops the heads of students. She finally found her way back to Draco's outstretched arm and then to his shoulder, where she ruffled her feathers and preened. Draco muttered to her.  
  
"Show-off."  
  
She tilted her head towards him and blinked innocently a couple of times, as if to say;  
  
'Who me?'  
  
He refrained from rolling his eyes at her. He had been doing that a lot lately, it seemed, insufferable chit, she was sometimes.  
  
After he had finished his breakfast, he rose to leave the Hall. On his way out he came up against Weasley, followed by Granger and Potter.  
  
'What now?' he thought to himself.  
  
"Nice bird, you got there, Ferret. Never pegged you for a bird type person, always pictured you more on the level with toads and snakes."  
  
"Yeah, well, I guess you assume too much, don't you Weasel. Now if you don't mind, move!" Draco started walking out the doorway as Ron backed aside.  
  
"No problem, I'd just keep an eye on the bird if I were you, wouldn't want anything to happen to it, eh?" Draco turned and faced him and said carefully.  
  
"Oh really? And if something does happen to her, it's not me you should be worried about; it's her that I'd be scared of." He left the comment at that and walked away down towards his rooms.  
  
When the hallway was empty, Ginny jumped off his shoulder and landed with her feet on the ground, changing back into herself as she straightened up.  
  
"If that git wasn't my brother, I'd have no problem whatsoever popping him one good." She uttered in disbelief. "I can't believe he said that stuff. How thick can you get?"  
  
Draco just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Why bother wasting precious speech on that sorry topic.  
  
"Well, that was fun anyway. I better get going if I want to get to Ancient Runes, I'll owl you later!" Ginny took off, leaving Draco standing there by himself. He watched her until she turned a corner and then left for Potions.

* * *

The month and a half leading up to their testing date went by quick as lightening. They practiced almost every other night behind the Quidditch pitch, often beginning there but covering ground quickly and flying around Hogsmeade and into the hills beyond it. A couple times they flew all the way out to the sea to test their stamina. It had been a hard trip and was even more difficult on the return journey. They had returned exhausted and had slept in past noon on the following day, luckily they had done the trips on Saturdays so no one noticed if they had a lie-in on Sunday mornings. Red Feather also made the odd appearance in the Great Hall, or in corridors of Hogwarts riding on Draco's shoulder, students were now used to seeing the great bird of prey, and her worry of being caught lessened.  
  
As their skill with their Animagi grew, so too did their own relationship with each other. It was so unassuming and natural that they barely noticed it anymore. It was just something that grew from spending so much time together and enduring so many successes and failures. They were barely conscious of it, themselves.  
  
It was very different from most teenage relationships, though, and they probably would have noticed if either cared to examine it. One didn't find them sneaking off into broom closets to snog, or making puppy-eyes at each other across the Great Hall. Their relationship with each other was based in friendship, encouragement, fun, and acknowledgment. They both accepted the other for who they were. No assumptions and no disguises stood between them. It was simple, and would have continued to be, if only it weren't for everyone else...

Author's etc: Sorry about the mild cliffie, promise the next chp will be up soon! Tim Horton's Doughnuts for everyone who reviews! – cheers! sweetp  
  
Note: Ginny's t-shirt quote is by Aristotle.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

Disclaimer: I'm having trouble thinking of new witty things to say for this part.. umm. _shrugs_ . oh well.. you guys know I'm not JKR by now, so let's get on with the story, eh?  
  
Oh and I don't own the song on Draco's radio... again found on a mix tape that I have no hope of identifying. If any readers know, I'd love the info and will disclaim properly in the next chapter.  
  
****

**Chapter Eleven  
**

"Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap..."  
  
"Ginevra Molly Weasley! If you don't stop that incessant tapping, I am going to tear that wand out of your fingers and snap it in two! And I don't care if we can't afford a new one, in fact, all the better. Then you won't have a new one to tap either!" Ron fumed from the table where he and his compatriots were studying in the common room.  
  
"Sorry." Ginny replied meekly, halting her wand in mid air. If they only knew how nervous she was about tomorrow. If they only knew what she had to do tomorrow, a little wand tapping would be forgiven. But they didn't and couldn't possibly know, so she hid her nervous ticks as well as she could, and hoped that those that slipped out, like the wand tapping, wouldn't be questioned too closely.  
  
Tomorrow was the big day. Dumbledore had arranged for Ginny and Draco to portkey to the ministry where the testing would be. Friday was to be devoted to theory tests and general morphing capabilities. Since their forms were B-level restricted (all animals that were non- terrestrial fell into this category, as they were the most advanced animagi of a non-magical origin.) their testing would last two days, the second day being entirely practical. Altitude and long-distance stamina were to be tested on Saturday, as well as general flying precision and fluidity.  
  
Draco had tried to assuage her fears last night after their very last practice.  
  
"Gin, you have nothing to worry about. Have we or have we not been able to fly for the past three months?"  
  
"We have..but.."  
  
"No buts! We can do this. You can do this. Just relax okay. It's no big deal, just think of this licensing procedure as a mere formality. Icing on the cauldron cake if you will."  
  
"It's not just the tests Draco," she sighed, leaning into him. "How am I going to disappear for two days! I mean, Ron doesn't notice when it's just for a few hours a night. But two days! Even he's not that thick."  
  
"Dumbledore figured it out remember. I'm away because I'm needed at my company's shareholders meeting and tomorrow you're going to be in the infirmary ill. Then Saturday being a Hogsmeade day, everyone will be away anyway, so it won't matter. Come on, Little One, it'll all work out."  
  
She sighed again and looked up at him uncertainly. "Well, if you say so..."  
  
"I do. And just to prove how right I am, I am treating you to a celebratory supper Friday night, wherever you want to go in Diagon Alley."

Back in the Common Room, Ginny broke out of her reverie and decided to head upstairs to her dorm and pack her overnight bag before anyone else went up. Dumbledore had arranged rooms for her and Draco at the Leaky Cauldron to stay in Friday night. Saturday morning they would make their way back to the Ministry of Magic, and from there, an adjudicator would take them, via portkey, to the testing grounds.

* * *

At ten-thirty the next morning, Ginny and Draco were sitting side by side in extremely uncomfortable plastic chairs in the lobby of the Department of Magical Licensing (Apparating and Animagus division). Ginny's right leg was bouncing nervously up and down.  
  
Draco slid his hand across his lap and placed it on her knee, stopping the movement.  
  
"Relax, Gin." He smirked at her. "Come on, with me as your teacher, you have no chance of failing."  
  
This brought out a small smile on her face. "It's good to know that even in serious situations such as these, you never lose your arrogance."  
  
"I know, it's great, isn't it?" he teased, glad to see that she was calming down because of his gentle banter.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, we're ready for you now. Please follow me," the secretary said to the two teenagers.  
  
They stood and followed, but before entering the test room, Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Everything would be all right.  
  
"All right you two." Came a voice from a desk at the front of the room. A short, balding wizard sat there, eyeing them seriously as they came in.  
  
"Am I to understand that you both are applying for Animagus licenses?"  
  
"Yes, sir." They answered politely.  
  
"And I am to understand that your animagus," he indicated towards Draco, "is an Aquila Chryaetos?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And I am to understand that your animagus," indicating Ginny, "is a Buteo jamaicensis?"  
  
"Yes, sir." Ginny squeaked.  
  
They waited in silence as the wizard appraised them. It was so quiet they could hear the ticking of Draco's silver pocket watch. 

The little wizard's face broke into a large smile.  
  
"We don't get a lot of your type." He stood up to close the door. The turned towards them eagerly.  
  
"This I can't wait to see."

* * *

She tore out of the Common Room, slamming the portrait of the Fat Lady back against the wall. She could hear the shouts of her brother fading into the distance as she ran farther away, tears blinding her journey.  
  
It was very late.  
  
Filch and Mrs. Norris would be roaming the halls but she didn't care, she just wanted to get away. And so, she ran and ran, red hair streaming behind her, from the lofty heights of Gryffindor tower to the depths of the dungeons. Without knowing how, she had run down to Draco's corridor and stopped at the door with the burnished brass handle in the shape of a Chinese Fireball.  
  
"Let me in!" she cried, banging on the door.  
  
Draco awoke from a light slumber, upon hearing the girl's upset voice. 'What could possibly be wrong, I'm sure we aced our tests.' He raised himself, leaning against the headboard and quickly shouted his password, "Icharus", at the door to release the lock. Ginny tumbled in, her clothes and hair in disarray. But it was the tear-stained cheeks that Draco noticed first. He stared at her with worry in his gray eyes.  
  
Ginny sat, wide-eyed, in the middle of his large suite, never having been here before.  
  
She sniffed loudly, thinking aloud to herself in the dark.  
  
"What I am going to do now! Everything is so unfair!"  
  
A voice answered her from the shadows.  
  
"I agree completely."  
  
Ginny started and looked closer until she saw the bare-chested figure of Draco leaning against the back of a bed, his pajama clad legs were all twisted in the sheets.  
  
"What's wrong, Little One?" he asked softly. "I promise to torture whoever made you cry."  
  
She sniffed again, and smiled a little.  
  
"I had to get away." She tried valiantly to compose herself, but failed, breaking down into tears again.  
  
"Gin," he said, trying to get her attention. "I don't blame you. I understand how sometimes the only option you have is to run. Trust me, I know from experience."  
  
He held out his hand to her and she crawled over to him, letting him pull her up onto the bed and wrap his strong arms around her. They steady beat of his heart calmed her as he stroked her hair soothingly.  
  
She spoke quietly, as if to herself.  
  
"It was Ron... _sniff_.. he's such a git.. he finally decided to smarten up and act like a protective older brother. We had it all planned, he wasn't supposed to notice, Draco. Sometimes, he'd get suspicious, like the day of the Yule Ball," she stopped and smiled up at Draco, remembering the events of that night, "but he never really bothered me about disappearing for a few hours here and there. 'I'm a big girl' I'd say, 'I can handle myself.' But this weekend, oh gods, he noticed I wasn't there, he even checked the infirmary, and searched in Hogsmeade. When I got back tonight, he just railed into me, accusing me of sneaking off and skyving classes and being totally irresponsible and how he was gong to tell Mum and Dad all about it. Then he said that from now on, I'm to tell him everywhere I go, cause I might be off getting possessed or something stupid like that."  
  
"And what did you say to that?"  
  
"I yelled back just as loud. **And stamped my foot**. He had no right to control me. That I was old enough to decide where I went or what I did, and that I was a _fucking _responsible young witch, and he didn't know anything about anything anyway, and if he didn't accept that, he could just go jump in the lake!"  
  
"Gosh, Little One, no Latin, no Greek, real swear words. You must have been pretty angry, eh?  
  
"It's just.._hic_.. so unfair.." Ginny continued "I really want to be honest, I mean all this sneaking, I feel like I've been more Slytherin this year than Gryffindor." Draco smiled at her comment.  
  
"But I can't say anything about my animagus until the results come back next month. And I really can't say anything about you and me... Merlin, that'd be like asking for a dementor's kiss. I just wish things could be easier, that's all." Ginny sighed and rested her head back on Draco's chest, calmed by the tattoo of his heart. Her mind drifted.  
  
Minutes elapsed in silence and Draco thought that Ginny had fallen asleep, tired from the stress of the day, when she suddenly whispered to him.  
  
"I never meant for all of this to happen, Draco. Back in September, I never would have imagined that it would turn out like this..." She paused, breathing softly.  
  
"But it's good, you know, I'm really glad it did..."  
  
"Me too, Little One." He replied quietly as he watched her drift off to sleep.

* * *

_If I lived in a perfect world, I would spend my days lying in the sun.  
The party never ends in a perfect world.  
Nacho cheese and anarchy, boy that sure sounds good to me.  
Living leisurely in a perf..   
_  
"Bugger." Draco muttered as he quickly silenced his alarm clock before it woke Ginny. He sunk back into his bed, stifling a yawn and turning to watch the little pixie curled up beside him.  
  
He watched her peaceful face as she breathed slowly. In and out. In and out. In and out. It was beginning to hypnotize him. He shook his head, breaking the trance, and smiling down at her he whispered.  
  
"What are you doing to me, witch?"  
  
With that he got up to start his day, which meant grabbing his running togs and heading to his washroom to change. Once he was done, he came back into the bedroom and bent down to put on his trainers.  
  
"Awwwgghhh." Ginny yawned and stretched, looking around bleary eyed for a moment until she remembered the events of the previous night.  
  
Draco looked up at her, in the middle of tying his last shoelace.  
  
"Good morning Sunshine." He drawled.  
  
"Morning." She replied, still half-asleep, then looked at him closer and giggled.  
  
"What?" Draco questioned. "Oh, right, shirt, figures you'd like this one." He smirked.  
  
He went over to get his swacket from it's hook and threw it over his t- shirt, which had written across it '_I used to have an open mind, but my brains kept falling out._'  
  
"Gin?" He looked over to her.  
  
"Hm?" She answered, content to lie against his luxurious pillows forever.  
  
"You should probably sneek back up to Gryffindor Tower soon. The halls are usually empty this early, especially since its Sunday, but by the time I get back, er, 7:15ish, the early risers are on their way to breakfast."  
  
Ginny nodded in reply. Dreading the thought of leaving her safe refuge, but knowing that she had to do it, in order to prove Ron right. She would not tell him where she had been the past couple days, but she would reiterate that she was completely capable of looking after herself.  
  
'Just one more month' she told herself, 'then I don't have to lie anymore. I hope.' She sighed audibly.  
  
Draco was about to leave for his run when Ginny spoke up hesitantly.  
  
"Thanks...for last night. Wait, that didn't come out right. I just,... well...just thanks." She smiled slightly at him.  
  
Draco crossed the room in a few long strides until he was right in front of her. Cupping her face in his hands he bent down and kissed her forehead.  
  
"No worries Gin, no worries. It'll all turn out fine." He winked and left the room. 

As Draco pounded across the soft fields of Hogwarts he slowly processed all that had happened over the long weekend. It had been a lot to take in. His own anxiety about the tests, coupled with Ginny's, which he tried his best to allay, had disappeared quickly once the testing began. They had exceeded expectations, he was sure of it.  
  
'But then Weasel had interfered and caused my girl to cry. Did I just think of Ginny as mine? Yea, I guess I did.' He shook his head at the thought and slowed down to a stop.  
  
'As much as she is strong and wants her independence. As much as she screams and yells and stomps her feet, she still needs someone. She needed me there last night, just to be there for her.'  
  
He blinked in sudden realization, in all his planning and scheming and sneaking he had never imagined this possible.  
  
'_Gods,_ I think I need her just as much.'  
  
If anyone had been awake that morning, and ten to seven, and peered out into the semi-darkness of dawn, they would have seen the most miraculous sight. There, standing in the middle of the field beside Hogwarts, stood Draco Malfoy, hands resting behind his neck, elbows akimbo, wearing the biggest smile to ever grace his aristocratic face.

****

**Author's etc**: A big shout out to my reviewers. You girls(and guys?) really do encourage me to write more, and more often. After a month of un-interest I'm really getting back into this story... who knows what will happen next ! Now, about those doughnuts.. power of the stars, what is so funny about doughnuts..hehehe.. okay so they are sort of funny, but come on, Timmy's is a Canadian tradition. Why give out cookies when you could have a maple dip or a double chocolate? Speaking of...._**author rifles through pockets to find appropriate loonie and then sneaks off to find 24hour timmy's**_ -sweetp


	12. Chapter Twelve: Revelations and an Angry...

Disclaimer: Sorry, anything HP related is still not mine. But the plot is, which is kinda neat.

Author's etc.: My humble thanks to my patient readers, le finis.

****

**Chapter 12**

"So Ginny, how are the OWLs coming along?" Hermione queried as she slid into a seat across from Ginny, for once, not with Harry and Ron in tow.

Ginny, barely paying attention as she munched her toast, uttered in return,

"No Mione, post hasn't arrived yet, owls should be here soon."

Her head came up when she heard Hermione start to giggle, a very un-hermione-ish thing, that surprised half the table.

"Oh, Ginny, you are such a laugh! I meant OWLs, ordinary wizarding levels, silly goose! The ones you've been studying for since the beginning of the year..."

_Sweet Proserpina!_

She had forgotten all about OWLs, being so worried about her animagus test. Ginny thought quickly,

"Of course Mione, I was just kidding around," she glanced around the Hall, eyes briefly meeting Draco's, a faint smirk formed on her face. "In fact, I've even got a tutor to help me prepare. Well, I better go, er..hit the books, and all that."

Ginny stood abruptly and gathered her things before walking out into the corridors. Hermione tried to call study encouragements to her as she left, but Gin barely heard them as she was too busy wondering how she could sucker Draco into helping her study.

* * *

"But Draco, you already know what a good teacher you are. Come on, pretty please, pretty please with a Mrs. Cremwick's Super Sweetie on top."

He grinned at her evilly. He was just going to have a little teeny bit of fun with her. She'd laugh at it all later, he was sure of it.

"Pardon me, sprite, what was that? Draco Malfoy is the greatest teacher in the entire Wizarding World? Is that what you said?"

She narrowed her eyes at him leaning so casually against the Quidditch bleachers.

So, she hadn't been able to come up with a sneaky plan to convince Draco to tutor her this time, so what? Merlin above! There was a reason she wasn't sorted into Slytherin. Instead she had resorted to, embarrassing though it was, begging.

She sucked up her pride. "Yes, that's what I said, Draco Malfoy is the greatest teacher in the entire Wizarding World." She mimicked.

"Oh, you little witch, say it like you mean it or else the deal is off." He replied gleefully, loving the fact that the tables had finally turned. Or so he thought...

"But Dray-co, you know, that I know, that you are good, otherwise why would I ask you this little teensy smidgeon of a favour?" She pouted, pulling her orphan Kneazle face that always got her the last biscuit at home.

"Enough, enough, I can't take that face. Fine already, just please don't start batting your eyelashes. Gin that face is utterly unnerving, that face could control small countries, you are aware of that, right?"

She smiled brilliantly and jumped up, giving him an enormous hug. He gave her a quick squeeze back, but reluctantly let her go quickly, knowing that it would be easy for someone to spot them out there. And without their test results, they had no way to disappear quickly if someone came along.

She giggled as he let her down, poking at him in the arm.

"You really are getting soft, you know. Six months ago you would have scorned my orphan Kneazle face."

"Ah ha! Conniving little witch, so you admit that that face is a planned tactic".

She smiled secretively at him in response, then poked him again for good measure.

"What happened to that strict Slytherin boy I blackmailed at the beginning of the year?"

He rubbed his upper arm where she had poked him and gave her a mean look, though a faint smile hung on his face, but he just shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer. He bent and picked up his bag from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder. School beckoned.

"I'll see you tonight, Little One."

"You bet." She said as she snuck a quick peck on his lips. He smirked down at her then started to walk away.

Calling over his shoulder he teased.

"Don't forget to bring your books." Then, he walked around the pitch and back up to the castle, off to his Arithmancy lesson.

"Brat!" Ginny yelled after him, watching him go. She stood there for a minute or so with a silly grin on her face before she too left for class.

* * *

The month of March went by at an amazing rate. Both Ginny and Draco had feared that it would creep endlessly, but what with studying and classes it seemed to be, if not enjoyable, at least bearable.

On a foggy Monday morning at the end of the month, Ginny found herself dully walking towards the Great Hall and breakfast. She was only half awake. Although, in her drowsy state she did happen to notice that she had unwittingly entered the Great Hall with a group that also possessed a wide awake Draco Malfoy. "Him and his running" she mumbled to herself as she tried to rub the sleepiness from her eyes.

Before they had a chance to turn towards their respective tables, a voice halted all activity within the Great Hall.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Weasley. Wonderful, wonderful."

Both had stopped in their tracks, waiting for what Dumbledore had to say. The other students that had been standing around them found their tables quickly, and sat with their friends, watching the proceedings with interest.

Draco raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Dumbledore. Ginny kept glancing back and forth nervously between Draco and the Headmaster. _Was this it?_

Dumbledore broke his gaze with the young Malfoy, and swept it across the expanse of students.

"What you are about to witness, children, is an amazing thing. There were two amongst you that took it upon themselves to do something miraculous this year. Something that required more than just wand waving and magic words, something that I hope will encourage all of you to strive for the impossible and the impractical." He grinned a little and winked.

Slowly all the heads in the room turned towards the two standing quietly at the back. Ginny's eyes were now as big as saucers, and though Draco managed to keep a calm demeanor throughout the speech, his fists were clenched tightly in his robes.

_ Waiting._

"May I be the first to offer congratulations to you. You have both passed... with top marks, no less!"

"Aaaaaaghhhh!!!" Ginny squealed and jumped on Draco, an enormous grin lighting up her face. He grabbed her tightly, only slightly slowing the enthusiastic jumping for joy of his little sprite.

'Well,' he thought, as he held onto her for dear life, 'might as well go all out' and he kissed Ginny soundly on the lips.

He didn't care, he was glad to finally get everything out into the open. His success was intoxicating. He felt euphoric. They had done it. Alone. They had managed to capture a little bit of power for themselves. Now no one could take it away from them. Though standing firmly on the ground his soul was soaring up into the highest cirrus clouds. He shook his head slightly to get back to earth.

As his mind became aware of the present again, he noticed an irate Ronald Weasley barely being restrained at the Gryffindor table by what looked liked the entire first string of their Quidditch team. It looked like they were tempted to let him go too. Somehow it seemed of small importance to Draco all of a sudden. Let them come. What was a fistfight in comparison to this feeling of power, he was now in control of his own destiny and there was no going back. Dumbledore, after watching the chaos that ensued when the little Gryffindor had attacked the mean Slytherin, interrupted the crowd.

"Now, now, it is not so very strange that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin may find a shared interest. We are all just wizards, after all, aren't we?"

The Slytherin and Gryffindor table looked at Dumbledore skeptically.

"Well then, don't listen to me. I'm just an old man in a funny hat." He turned his attention to Draco, who had an arm firmly around Ginny, asking permission with a look and getting a positive response, he continued. "I think it high time a demonstration was in order. Then maybe you will all see what a good thing these two have accomplished."

The Hall quieted and attention focused once again on the lonely two at the back. Draco took one step back and held out his arm. Ginny turned her head and gave him a small smile, then turned to face the group. With a quick hop she morphed into Red Feather and perched herself on her usual location, side stepping up Draco's arm until she reached his strong shoulder. She sat there for a moment, watching everyone with her keen vision as they all blinked their eyes and gasped as the reality settled in. The hawk they had all gotten used to seeing on Malfoy's shoulder around school was, in fact, Ginny Weasley.

In a smooth motion she took off and flew up towards the Headmaster. Ron, for once in his life, was speechless. His little sister... his littlest sister... the one whose jumper he used to put on the cat, was an animagus! Incomprehensible.

So involved with watching the red-tailed hawk make its way around the room, that when a second, larger bird, one whose wings spanned two metres across flew up behind it, the students were struck dumb in astonishment. Many kept looking back at the place where Draco and Ginny had stood, trying to understand the implications of what had just happened and hoping the world would right itself again after its brief minutes of being completely upside down.

Draco and Ginny landed as reality began to set in for the hundreds of Hogwarts students. It was Professor McGonagall that started clapping first, followed by the rest of the staff and then the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Draco and Ginny's own houses were slow to pick up the applause, but soon were drawn in and were clapping along with everyone else.

"Draco, this is wonderful!" Ginny squealed.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, Little One. You realize, that tomorrow they will all come to their senses and despise us."

She sighed a little bit, but kept smiling. "Yeah, I know. We can't change their opinions about inter-house stuff in one night. But now," she raised her eyebrows at him, grinning, "at least we can escape it all whenever we want."

"Right you are, witch." Draco conceded. "Absolutely right..."

* * *

It was that philosophy that got them through the rest of the school year, past Easter hols, through Ginny's arduous OWLs and onto the Hogwart's Express.

Their impressive accomplishments had earned both of them the grudging respect of all the Houses, however, the unusual relationship that existed between the two was harder to comprehend. The students of Hogwarts didn't exactly despise Draco and Ginny for it, they just had absolutely no idea what to make of it. According to gossip, Hogwarts Halls hadn't seen anything like it since the fabled Tarwen/Kensey-Owens affair of 1724, and that had sadly ended in a suspicious and fatal splinching incident.

Accordingly, Draco and Ginny faced no open hostility during the reminder of the term, though they were careful to invite none either, usually flying outside of Hogwarts grounds to spend time together.

Well, almost no open hostility. One wizard in particular, deemed it his personal duty to be as contrary as possible towards this new development in his little sister's life.

"Ginevra Weasley! Unlock this train compartment this instant! You think I'm trouble, just you wait until Mum finds out about this... she's waiting for you missy, right now on the platform!"

From the safety of their compartment, Ginny sighed into Draco's shoulder.

"This is going to be a long summer."

"Yes."

"I don't know if I can make it."

"Well," he said kissing her temple distractedly, "I am going to be rather busy over the holidays... what with work, study, flying with you..."

She perked up. Then heard Ron yell another obscenity through the door.

"You get your slimy hands off my sister, Malfoy!!"

"The distance between Devon and Wiltshire is not so very far, as the crow flys..." He smirked at her and was rewarded with a bright smile. He gave her one last kiss and then turned her around so she was facing the door.

"I'll see you in a few days, witch." He whispered as she burst out of the compartment, startling a very red-faced Ron.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, have you no tact? Did I do that when you were saying goodbye to Hermione?"

"Gin! Shut it." He glanced around him, hoping no one had heard.

Ginny just rolled her eyes at her beloved brother and pulled him off the train to where their mother was waiting for them.

It was going to be an incredibly long summer.

* * *

Author's etc.: Thank you, thank you, thank you! To all my faithful reviewers, to all my faithful readers, to Holly, to Tiff, to Holly's friend who egged me on, even though I have never met her...grin I hope this last chapter finished things nicely for everyone. Hard to say whether there will be an epilogue. I am working on an idea for a darker story within the same world, only three years in the future. So, keep your eyes out for updates. Gosh, you're just all so great, to put up with a slowpoke like me, Tim Hortons doughnuts for everyone!

As ever - sweetp


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